Shadow Magic: Zelgadis and Lina
by Sapphirefly
Summary: [Complete] Takes place after the first season. Lina has dinner with an intoxicating stranger. He listens to her angst ridden tale about Gourry leaving her for a girl with a little more 'up front', but he can't just leave her there she's Lina Inverse.
1. Chapter One After All

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

**Chapter One - After All**

A Song by Delerium

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Lyrics – Italics

Narrative – Black

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He hadn't meant to stop at that tavern. He was on his way somewhere else. He wouldn't have stopped at all except for an inescapable feeling that there was someone there – someone powerful.

It had been a very long time since he had encountered anyone like that. Sorcerers were becoming less and less common, especially humans.

He had to take a look.

All he did was look in through the window, and he saw her. She was sitting alone at a table, a huge mound of dishes stacked on the tablecloth. With that many dishes, she couldn't possibly be alone, but if she wasn't alone, where were her companions? She took a drink from a smoky goblet and leaned forward. Her white-gloved fingers drummed on the table highlighting her slender wrist. She had to be very young; that was when he noticed that none of the other chairs at the table had been pulled out. She really was alone.

It could only be one person. He had heard her name mentioned several times, but he had never seen her. The opportunity to observe her was irresistible.

Without thinking, he opened the door to the tavern and stepped across the threshold. The room was almost empty, as there weren't very many patrons at the tables and no one sitting at the bar. To get to the bar, he had to walk past her table. If he sat there it would afford an excellent view of her. He would have got there except a hand sprung out and grabbed the edge of his cloak. He turned around to see who was stopping him only to realize that it was Lina Inverse herself, the object of his interest, holding onto him.

She was looking down at the table, her face still covered by her tussled hair.

"Zel," she said quietly without looking up. "Sit down."

He sat down.

She let go of his cloak and rested one of her cheeks in the palm of her hand. "It's been a long time, ne?" she said, and looked up, but it was obvious to her guest that he was not who she was expecting. His name was not the name she spoke, and he was not the person she invited to sit with her.

"Gomen," he said, "I'm not who you expected?" Regardless of her feelings, she was exactly what he was expecting. She was everything they said she was, her aura spoke volumes.

"No," she said and allowed her hair to fall, covering her eyes.

Just then a waitress came to clear the dishes on the table. "Do you want anything?" she asked him.

"Red wine," he said, unknowingly emphasizing the word _red_. "And please get her anything she wants. I'll cover the charges."

"Well, in that case, chicken dinner for four on the double," Lina said brightly, with a sudden reversal of her mood.

She really was everything they said she was. This was going to be very interesting.

"So what's going so wrong for you that you were looking that way when I came in?"

"It's a long story," she said putting her hands behind her head. "You're not interested."

"But of course I'm interested," he drawled as he lazily pulled a pendant out of his inner pocket and swung it around by the chain. He watched her eyes as she followed the cycle he created with the heavy blue stone on the end of the chain.

She suddenly met his eyes, seemingly catching his meaning. "You're _that_ interested?" she asked.

"I'm interested. I'm sure it will go very well with my wine," he said.

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"I used to travel with this man," she started out. "When I first met him he saved me from a bandit gang. He . . . he thought that I would be _different_ than I am. I'm pretty young," she stumbled, almost choking on what she was trying to communicate.

_She knows the voices in her mind  
They tell her  
To leave_

"Even though I wasn't who he was looking for, we became friends and used to travel together. He used to tease me about my . . . body, and even though I was insulted, I never thought there was anything behind it. I thought that it was only that – teasing, but I was wrong." She paused taking a drink of the wine he had asked the waitress to bring. "Then it happened. A woman hit on him in a way he could understand, and he couldn't turn her down. Baka!"

_She's tired of smiling madly  
Until silence becomes very silently  
A noise in her mind_

"And he left with her! Can you believe that skunk? She told him she had a job for him that only he could do, and the way she asked him . . . argh! I thought I would vomit. And that little outfit she was wearing – doesn't she want to leave anything to the imagination?"

He watched her rant from the other side of the table. Most amusing! It was like watching chaos consume the universe. It was interesting the way she tried to cover that she cared about being discarded. Why did she bother with the pretension of not caring when she allowed herself to show this much anger?

_After all she has nothing inside  
No good to give  
No meaning to live  
The mist engulfed tonight  
Every single star_

"Did you tell him that you didn't want him to go?"

Lina suddenly turned an unusual colour of red, a tone he had never seen before. She closed her eyes and nodded her head.

_After all they shared  
How could he simply say no?  
After all they shared  
He turned away from her to go  
She said she wouldn't cry  
That was really just a lie_

"Were you in love with him?"

"How could I possibly be in love with that jellyfish!?! I have to explain everything to him fifty times and then he _still _doesn't understand, and he thinks _I'm_ the child. He's a moron!"

_She knows the noises in her mind  
Nothing's left but  
Screaming silence_

"So, this person . . . you called me a name earlier – Zel. Was that the man?"

"Zel? No. Zel is nothing like Gourry. He's, well, he's everything that Gourry is not. Argh! That brainless cockroach!"

_After all she feels numbness inside  
The feeling's gone  
She's upside down  
The pictures behind her closed eyes  
This time you went too far_

"So what will you do if you ever meet up with him?"

"I don't think a Dragon Slave would be enough punishment. He said he was my protector." Her hands clutched tightly around her dinnerware. When she set them down to take a drink, he noticed she had bent the fork terribly out of shape.

_After all they shared  
How could he simply say no?  
After all they shared  
He turned away from her to go  
She said she wouldn't cry  
That was really just a lie_

He stifled a laugh. She was really the most delightful creature he had ever come across. So angry! So violent! He could listen to her forever.

"What are you going to do now?"

"That's why I'm here. I came to see the Book of Xoanan. There was no way I was going to miss that."

"Who knows? Maybe you'll be able to find something in that to make you forget all about . . . what was his name? Gourry?"

_After all they shared  
How could he simply say no?  
After all they shared  
He turned away from her to go  
She said she wouldn't cry  
That was really just a lie_

"Exactly! What was his name? What was _your_ name?" she asked looking straight at the gentleman across the table from her.

_After all she has nothing inside  
No good to give  
No meaning to live  
The mist engulfed tonight  
Every single star_

"Oh," he said, getting up from the table dropping the necessary coin on the table. "It was most pleasurable having dinner with you tonight. I do indeed hope that I will be able to treat you again, and that you will be in an even more enjoyable mood." He took her hand in his with a smile and kissed it, "And I was right. You went very well with my wine."

"Sayonara."

_After all they shared  
How could he simply say no?  
After all they shared  
He turned away from her to go  
She said she wouldn't cry  
That was really just a lie_

****


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

**Chapter Two**

There were only five more days before they would open the book of Xoanan to the public. _Four days . . . three days . . . screw this!_

Lina had waited long enough. Gourry leaving her for that thirty-six double D had totally muddled her brain. She no longer had the mental stamina to wait for them to release the book to the public. There was nothing for it. She was sort of the impatient type anyway. She'd just have to sneak into the castle and have a look at it right away.

Lina let herself out of the front door of the inn. _Huff!_ She really had to snap out of this. There were lots of people in the world to make friends with, so even if one little person (especially one who had bait for brains), had let her down, there were still plenty of wonderful people to meet. For instance, there was Zel – he had never let her down.

The first guard at the castle was easily bribed by a ruby, the second was distracted by a bonk over the head – so, the ruby hadn't worked a second time. _Oh well! _There were two guards outside the vault where the book was kept. _Only two? _

"Hiya," Lina said approaching them with a sparkle in her eye.

They didn't even see it coming.

"FIREBALL!"

BOOM!

_See? That wasn't so hard. _The guards took off down the hall, probably to alert the captain or something. She would have to hurry.

Unfortunately, she had not blown the doors off the vault with her fireball, but that was all right. _The door can't be that heavy!_ She pushed it. Okay, so it was pretty heavy. She pushed it again and had much better luck. It opened just a crack, but she was slender, so she jammed herself through without much effort.

It was a long room with properly stacked chests. Lina had never seen such a well-organized treasure horde in her life. Everything was marked so it was easy to take an inventory of the room. Who liked money this much? The book of Xoanan was at the end of the room in the centre of what looked like a shrine. _Nothing to it! _

Lina had barely got her hand on the book when a voice at the other end of the room halted her.

"Lina!" a low voice said sternly.

She turned to see Zel enter the vault and shut the door carefully behind him. He gave her a look; the look of a person equally surprised and aggravated.

"Hiya Zel." She waved to him with the hand that was holding the book.

"Huff! It had to be you didn't it?" he said almost to himself as he drew his sword. "That sounds like my luck."

"Huh?"

"It's too bad I had to run into you like this. I'm sorry Lina, but I've been hired on as a sorcerer by this Kingdom," Zel said in a low tone.

Lina looked down at the book in her hand, a book on the construction of ancient stone golems. She looked up at Zel. His flesh was still the colour of polished jade. She knew him. He thought himself a monster for that flesh. Flesh that separated him from other humans yet protected him from even the sharpest blade. Then it occurred to her; what was she holding in her hand that was almost as valuable as the Claire Bible?

"Do you mean to kill me Zel? For this?" she asked holding up the book.

"For my cure," he said soberly.

"Ridiculous!" Lina said. "Lets . . ."

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"FLARE ARROW!" Zel hollered. That girl was insane!

"FREEZE ARROW!" Lina shouted and their respective spells vanished together in an explosion of sparks.

"Hurry up and turn the page," he said, running back towards her.

"Your turn," she said passing the book onto him and drawing her sword.

He took the book and answered her steel with his steel. He scanned the pages furiously. "Finished," he hissed, giving her the book. "I'll kill you," he yelled at the door. It was ridiculous, but even he had to admit that it was a great idea. The king's guard, which was waiting outside the door, would think that the two of them were engaged in an amazing battle, with all the threatening, spells and swordplay they would doubtless hear transpiring in the vault. Damnably clever! But now they were over three quarters finished reading the book, for Lina was reading every bit as quickly as he did, and he was starting to think that there was nothing included in the book that would lead to his cure. His mouth felt dry. The king had fooled him. He was getting angry. Damn them!

"Here," she said throwing it to him after her turn.

He caught it and threw it back to her, "You finish."

She snatched it out of the air. She didn't question him, but slumped on the ground and began reading even faster.

"Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand, FIREBALL!" he cast towards a far corner to the room. The castle would be on fire, but he didn't care. They had lied to him, because they wanted his strength. He would show them his strength.

"I'm finished," Lina proclaimed in a whisper from a safe corner of the room.

"There wasn't anything in that book to help me was there?"

"Gomen Zel," she said.

"Gomen Lina. Give me that book. I have to go have a conversation with the King and Princess," he said, feeling particularly sour.

"Want me to Dragon Slave them?" Lina said, shaking her fists.

"Maybe later," he said with a smile, taking the book from her. "I'll see you afterwards."

"Yeah, we definitely need to catch up."

"By the way, I wanted to ask you. Where's Gourry?"

Lina dropped her head and put a hand up to scratch the back of her head. "I don't really know. He met someone and . . . anyway, it's just me on my own now."

"We should meet up somewhere," Zel said suddenly. "I don't expect you to come with me to tell off the King, but we should meet somewhere. What inn are you staying at? I'll come see you after I finish here." He didn't know what made him say that. Gourry had left. It was too strange. He had never seen Lina at a loss for words in that way. She was always the strongest, the greediest, and the one to push everyone forward even when things were not to her advantage. Seeing her this way did not seem right.

"I'm at the Peacock Feather," she said.

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_That didn't go well_, Zelgadis thought as he stepped out of the King's throne room. He hadn't liked the job in the first place, but when he came to view the book and was accidentally caught entering the vault by the Princess of Xoanan herself, and offered the job and the possibility of earning the book legitimately, he was interested. He hadn't thought they were so wicked as to lie to him and use him. Just now though, he hadn't laid a finger on the King's daughter Martina, but gave the king himself a black eye, a fractured rib, and a cut across his right cheek exactly two millimeters deep. He couldn't bring himself to be crueler since he had only been employed by them for two weeks.

He was crossing through the ballroom now, a shortcut from the throne room to a back door that he could easily access and then make his way through the town to where Lina was staying. It was useless to rely on others, but at the same time, not acknowledging Lina's ability was more than foolish. And now she was without Gourry. It was odd – he felt odd.

Suddenly he heard the ring of steel echoing across the hall. A sword was being drawn by someone who wanted him to hear it. It couldn't be the captain of the guard, or any of the other soldiers in the castle. It was a warrior – someone good.

Zel drew his own sword, not allowing it to drag across the metal in his scabbard.

"Come out!" he called into the dark room.

At the far end he saw a faint glimmer of silver hair, almost violet, and the sweep of a tan-coloured cape. The man was standing with his back to Zelgadis. He was carrying a sword; a long sword almost taller than the man. _What the . . ._

"Who are you?" he said with less assurance in his voice.

The character turned his head around very deliberately, allowing Zel to get a good look at his face in the dim light.

Zel's breath came in fast. _It was not possible!_

"I'm Zelgadis Greywers," the man said. "Don't you know me?" He brought his sword up to combat stance.

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Knock! Knock!

_That has to be Zel_, Lina thought, getting up from her bed. She opened the door, and there he was standing on the other side, his hood and mask drawn around his face.

"Hi," he said shyly.

"Come on in Zel," she said grabbing his hand and dragging him into the room. "It's not like we're strangers or like you've never been in my bedroom before. That was how we met wasn't it? You came to bargain with me for the Philosopher's stone – so this is no big deal. I guess you're not working for this Kingdom anymore. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm not sure," he said sitting down on her bed, avoiding the two chairs and the bench in front of the dressing table. "I was thinking that since the book of Xoanan was of no use to me that perhaps I ought to go for something larger."

"Like what?" she asked leaning against the wall.

"Like a copy of the Claire Bible manuscript."

"Hum, the Claire Bible."

"There is a possibility that there may be something like that in one of Rezo's old mansions. There was one far to the north that I don't think even Eris knew about. I thought perhaps I would start there since his laboratory in Sairagg was destroyed. I really thought the book of Xoanan would prove to be more valuable," he said reflectively. "It turned out to be very disappointing."

"Well, then I'm coming with you," she proclaimed cheerfully.

"Huh? That's odd Lina."

"There's nothing strange about it. I like learning new magical theory. You know that about me. I'm interested in the contents of the Claire Bible and really anything Rezo had. It won't be so weird Zel. We've traveled alone together before."

He nodded. "Very well then Lina. I'll see you in the morning," he said getting up to go.

"Zel," she said quietly halting him. "You asked me before what happened to Gourry – why I wasn't with him."

"It's okay Lina, you don't have to tell me what happened. Knowing Gourry, I can pretty much guess how he would behave. Just don't stop fighting, and everything will work out well for you. You'll see."

"Thanks Zel," she said letting him out of the room.

_It's okay_, she thought going over to the bed. She noticed the wrinkles on the spread from where he had been sitting. She couldn't stay in a slump forever. It was really time to move on. Since when had she really needed anyone by her side? Zel was right. The first bandit gang she ran into after they left Xoanan was really gonna get it, and she was going to sleep well.


	3. Chapter Three Tonight

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

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**Chapter Three - Tonight**

By Sixpence None the Richer

Italics – Lyrics

Black – Any Narrative

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"Okay Zel," Lina said between bites. "Where do we go from here?"

_Tonight it's time  
Choose a direction  
If you fail  
You can make a correction_

"It shouldn't be hard to make it there if we make our way straight north from here, but it will be a long trip. I expect it to take us several weeks. It's very far north. It snows almost all year there," he said briefly.

Lina shivered. "Do you really think that mansion houses something _that_ important?"

"Would you rather not go?"

_Somewhere now  
Make life faster  
Make your mind  
Up for once this time_

"No nothing like that. I was just wondering what exactly you were trying to find," she said, having polished off her plate, and now holding the last drumstick in her hand.

_It's hard  
To know  
Where I'm  
Supposed to go_

"Yes Lina, I believe there is some vital information stored there on how he generated the mazoku element of my body, possibly in a Claire Bible manuscript. If I found out how the magic was performed . . ."

"Then you could find out if it is possible to undo it," she finished for him, throwing the stripped bone over her shoulder.

"Exactly," he said. "But all mazoku power comes from Ruby Eye Shabranidgo himself, so I imagine whatever I discover will lead me back to him."

_It's hard  
So hard to know  
To know  
Where I'm supposed to go_

"That makes sense," she said, emptying what was left in her mug, and looking across the table at Zel. This was their first night out of Xoanan. She had never traveled with Zelgadis like this before. It was strange. His chair was pulled up as close to the table as it could be and he seemed almost excited about the journey they were about to discuss. She had never seen Zel express those kinds of positive emotions before. Maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought she did.

_Tonight  
Tonight  
Tonight it's time  
Choose a direction  
If you fail  
You can make a correction_

She thought about where they were going. It sounded like he was going to take her to the North Pole. The idea didn't appeal to her, but she was extremely interested in Rezo's artifacts. Any item one of the wisest men of all time kept in his mansion had to be intriguing. So, she made up her mind that she would bear the cold in order to get the treasure, and Lina loved treasure.

It was good to have Zel by her side though. His every step seemed to calm her, and tonight he pulled her chair out for her when they went to sit down. It seemed that he did so to acknowledge her, but acknowledge her as what? He listened to what she had to say very carefully when they were on the road too. She was meeting him for the first time without revenge on his mind. He seemed different.

_Somewhere now  
Make life faster  
Make your mind  
And for once this time  
It's like  
To know  
Where I'm  
Supposed to go_

Zel had been sitting across the table from her, but when the waitress took her hoard of serving platters away, he moved into the chair beside her and took out a map, laying it out on the table in front of her.

"It's about time we made our plans," he said.

_It's hard  
So hard to know  
To know  
Where I'm supposed to go_

Lina listened to him as he pointed out routes, and mentioned specific landmarks they ought to see along the way. She had never seen such a well-defined map. It explained everything, and lost in the marked rivers and mountain ridges, she forgot about everything that had been bothering her.

_Tonight  
Tonight  
Tonight I'm going let it go  
And try to let it be  
Because I know you see  
That it's hard  
To know  
Where I'm supposed to go_

She had been thinking about so many things – about Gourry, but that was beginning to hurt less. He was just a guy she knew after all. It wasn't like she was alone either. Zel was here with her; a man she knew would not disappoint her either in a battle or in the strategy session before. It wasn't that she needed someone, but more resources were better, so it was good to have him with her.

_But there is  
A way  
And tomorrow is a brand new day  
And it's hard  
So hard to know  
Where I'm supposed to be_

Lina didn't go up to the counter with Zel to book their rooms at the inn. He said he would pay for both of their rooms, and she didn't really want to go up to the counter with him. It was going to be enough of a struggle to make it up to her room, considering how full her stomach was, but there seemed to be a bit of a problem.

"I'll need two rooms," Lina heard Zel say.

"Why?" the man at the counter asked. "Isn't she your woman?"

He looked over his shoulder right at her. "Maybe," he said, holding her gaze, "if she wasn't so innocent."

Lina's temper flared. "Why you!" She pulled her slipper out of her pocket and nailed him in the head with it. It took him by surprise and got him right between the eyes.

As he bent down to pick up her slipper, he was laughing, almost like he enjoyed the display.

"You've got a wild one Mister," the innkeeper said to Zel. "Don't forget to buy her something beautiful in the gift shop."

He laughed again. "I'll be sure to follow your advice and be more respectful to my companion in the future. I doubt she will even speak to me again tonight. Yare yare - I'll have to start fresh in the morning."

Lina watched with interest.

He paid the man, and dropped Lina's key and slipper on the table in front of her before bidding her goodnight and leaving her in the dinning room.

_What did that mean?_

_But there is a way  
And tomorrow is a brand new day  
Tonight  
Tonight_


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

A few hours had passed since he woke up. He was flat on his face, and unfortunately the floor he had been casually dumped on was wet. He wearily rolled onto his back. A mellow green light came in through the bars from the tiny green shaded torches. Something was tapping hard against the stone floor. What was it? If only he had the strength to get himself off the floor.

_So, this was what happened! _

He had been to the prison on the lowest level of the palace in Xoanan only once, but he wasn't likely to forget it. It was just as dark and horrible as he remembered. If he was here than that must mean . . . yes, she was there. He turned his head just a little to see her high heels on the stone floor. Her light hair curled around her face as usual. It was a pity. He was hoping that he would never have to see her again.

"Oh, poor Zelgadis-san," she laughed, when she realized he was watching her.

Her evil blue eyes were dancing with her words. He slumped his body up into a sitting position. It was painful, but he pulled his legs so they crossed each other. He could not allow himself to look helpless in front of this malevolent witch. He should have killed her.

"You have been sentenced to execution for what you did to my dear father. How could you?" she wailed.

Her handkerchief was in her mouth now, and it seemed that tears were flowing freely from those false eyes. She was just excited at the prospect of someone actually being sacrificed on the altar for her precious dark lord. How disgusting! The opportunity had not come up since her fetish had gone out of control, but now he had done something that was definitely worth a death sentence. He should have killed her.

"How do you like our dungeons? Certainly they are very different from the rooms you used to keep as our sorcerer. I suppose you're very sorry that you betrayed us now," she said, wiping away her tears. "Did you really think you could escape Xoanan after what you did to my father? Insufferable!"

The tilt of her nose was what was annoying Zel now; the way it tilted up. She strutted on the other side of those prison bars with complete confidence that he could not get to her. He had practiced hard not to let Martina's arrogance piss him off, but the intense throbbing in his head was making him lose his edge. He should have killed her.

"However," she said, looking down her nose at him. "We might be able to come to an arrangement that doesn't involve spilling your blood."

He laughed.

"How dare you!" she piped. "How dare you laugh at me when I'm offering you mercy!?!"

"Tell me, Martina," he asked, goading in his voice. "How were you going to do it? What sort of execution did you have in mind?"

She stamped her foot. "Everything!" she hollered. "Cut off your head, burn you at the stake, hang you, poison you, drown you, cut you into little pieces – everything!" she shrieked.

"Sorry Martina," he said. "It's almost impressive that your people managed to get me down to the dungeon at all. However, even though I'd love to cram your little deal down your despicable little throat, you must tell me – who else do you have working for you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said smugly.

"I should have killed you," he said darkly, forgetting for a moment that it was Martina he was speaking to. She couldn't understand how much he meant it.

She laughed at him now. "What can you do from behind those bars? You're not so powerful, if one of our guards can single-handedly capture you. I don't know why Daddy thought you were so special."

"Well," Zel said, pushing his hair out of his face and revealing a twisting smile. _A guard_, he thought. No, it couldn't possibly be a guard he had fought with. Martina obviously thought he had been beaten, probably by a regular palace guard. Zel knew the guards. He worked with them on several occasions. No, he fought with someone different, someone strong enough to catch him unaware and deal him a nearly fatal blow to the head. His head throbbed painfully as he remembered.

"Don't be so sure you've beaten me," he said to her after he had thought a bit.

"I don't see what you can do. Unless you agree to my offer, you'll die tomorrow, in front of the whole city. Imagine your precious face exposed to everybody. Can you imagine it Zelgadis?" she asked puffing up her chest.

_Enough! _He forced himself to his feet. He couldn't understand why his body hurt this much. He couldn't understand why he didn't mind. That woman . . . she crossed a line. He couldn't sit in that cage for another minute for her pleasure.

"FIREBALL!" he called.

After big rocks in the ceiling had fallen, hitting him as hard as they hit the object of his disdain, and he cleared himself from the wreckage. He happened to see Martina's black-gloved hand sticking out from beneath a heavy plate. He picked it up and absently checked her pulse. She was still alive – pity. He quickly considered his options and threw her wrist away. He would be a very sorry man indeed if he couldn't let a woman with a big mouth off the hook. He reminded himself again that it indeed was her only fault. He could feel that way now because his tempter had ebbed. Firing off that fireball really had improved his spirits immensely. He was becoming like Lina.

With that, he simply walked out of the remains of the building. His headache was going away already.


	5. Chapter Five Evening Falls

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

Chapter Five - Evening Falls

By Enya

Italics – Lyrics

Black – Any Narrative

_When the evening falls and the daylight is fading,  
From within me calls - could it be I am sleeping?_

"Do you see it Lina?" he said, taking hold of her arm and helping her to the top of the hill. "Isn't it beautiful?"

There was a pink haze hanging over the atmosphere now. The world seemed not in life or in death, for only the depth of light changed position behind the mountains, and she never saw the sun. A few bright stars glowed in the air high above her, but the sky was not dark enough to show everything existing in the heavens. She had never seen a world like this; she had never visited a place like this.

Just as he said, there before her was a castle. A castle with tall spindles for towers so jagged Lina felt as though they could have been part of the mountains surrounding it.

_For a moment I stray, then it holds me completely.  
Close to home - I cannot say.  
Close to home feeling so far away._

_Could this really be one of the mansions owned by the Red Priest? _Lina wondered as she stumbled after Zelgadis. How many secrets could someone hide in a place like this?

She was tripping on the cloak Zelgadis lent her. She was going to fall, but she would be too cold if she did not wear it.

"Lina," Zel said suddenly turning around.

He was only wearing his usual costume, and Lina noticed suddenly with pity that there was nothing at all over his ears; his hood was not even pulled up. Little crystals of frost clung to his eye lashes outlining his eyes perfectly in pure white. The wind was blowing against his clothing highlighting the rocks that protruded slightly all over his body and highlighting his hair; the way it didn't move. The world around him was shining silver now, and it seemed that he really had come home. Lina had never seen Zelgadis look less human to her as he mouthed her name and turned towards her.

"I know you act like it's not bothering you," he said.

"I act like what's not bothering me?" she asked, stopping to pull her walking stick out from the ice, and hoping wildly that he did not guess her thoughts. That she was thinking that even though he didn't look at all human, he looked unbelievably gorgeous. She had always thought him good-looking regardless of his curse, but this was a new feeling – what was it?

"The cold," he said.

She nodded.

Lina looked into his eyes – his strange alien eyes. There was magic stirring here of a different kind. Was it the world around her or Zelgadis' eyes, that were making her fall . . . fall under a spell? Fall into his arms?

_As I walk there before me a shadow  
From another world, where no other can follow.  
Carry me to my own, to where I can cross over...  
Close to home - I cannot say.  
Close to home feeling so far away._

The halls inside the castle seemed only black and white. The floor was checked marble with great fireplaces on both sides of the room. Great windows placed high arching elongated shadows, showing very clearly what was black and what was white. There were nameless spirits here, as the hall held the quiet aura of a church – this was a sanctuary.

Zel's hands led her deeper into the room. He seemed to hold onto her only by her fingertips.

"There's no one here," he said, loud enough it seemed to scare the demons away. "FIREBALL!" he called, lighting one of the fireplaces.

Lina crowded to it easily. There was a large fur on the floor before the grate and she laid down on it. "Don't tell anyone you saw me like this, okay Zel?" She pleaded as she ripped her gloves off her hands and warmed them in front of the fire. "I've just never been this cold before. I'm becoming lightheaded. It's like I don't know where I am, or what I'm doing here," she said feeling guilty and embarrassed, but said what was on her mind anyway. It was Zel she was talking to after all. She could trust him with any secret. "I'm very lucky I'm not dead, aren't I?" Her teeth were chattering with her breath.

"FIREBALL!" he cried and lit the second fireplace. "No Lina, I wouldn't have let you die."

"Thank-you Zelgadis," she said, feeling quite relieved that she had a friend like that with her.

"Zelgadis," he said out loud, repeating her, and pulling her hood away from her face. "Lina," he said quietly, "Do you mind if I help you?"

She shook her head.

He pulled her hair out of her coat and spread it out behind her to dry. She watched him pick some rocks out from the fireplace; he put them under the fur she was lying on. When the heat from the rocks finally reached her, she closed her eyes, feeling at last it was safe to sleep.

_Forever searching; never right, I am lost  
In oceans of night._

_Forever  
Hoping I can find memories.  
Those memories I left behind._

She was casting the dragon slave.

She was wielding a sword.

She was running for her life.

She was hanging from the ceiling.

She was bribing a guard with a ruby.

She was reading a powerful book on magic.

She was traveling with Zelgadis, a powerful warrior and sorcerer.

_Who was she?_

She had this feeling that she was nobody at all. It simply didn't matter. It was hard to remember . . .

_Even though I leave will I go on believing  
That this time is real - am I lost in this feeling?  
Like a child passing through, never knowing the reason.  
I am home - I know the way.  
I am home - feeling oh, so far away._

All strength had left her, and she laid there on the floor, not able to get up. She thought she heard voices mumbling softly up by those tall windows. She thought she understood what they were saying, but they couldn't have been saying what she heard.

The words, "The master is home."


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

**Chapter Six**

"We need to talk," the priest said as he entered the room hitting his staff on the white stone floor with a loud ringing sound.

"You really have lost all sense of decorum, haven't you?" the master of the castle said. He was sitting in a high-backed chair made of dark wood. There were white furs draped around it as cushioning. The master sat in the chair at an angle resting his left elbow against the arm rest and allowing his feet a leisurely stretch. "You know how to address your superiors, don't you?"

"Pardon me," the priest said, not correcting his mistake. "You've changed since I last saw you."

"I know you think I'm degrading myself hopelessly beyond necessity to have stolen this form, but it was the most direct path to my goal. I don't need to make excuses for myself," the chimera said directly, touching a slightly green finger to a slightly green face.

"Indeed, you have achieved your goal delightfully well," the priest praised, his comments reeking with sarcasm.

"Tut tut. One day that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble Xellos-san," he warned.

"I'll be sure to be more careful," he said, taking a little bow.

"You've got about thirty seconds to tell me what we _need_ to talk about, before I draw my sword and ask you (very politely) to get the hell out, for you did enter my space without my permission," he said rising to his feet and leisurely stepping towards the priest. His white shirt stretched taunt across his shoulder blades as he moved.

"Lord Hellmaster asked me to visit," Xellos said smugly.

"Really?" he asked, taking a sword from the wall, it was almost as long as himself with a wide wicked blade. "Twenty two seconds."

"He's displeased with the actions you've taken towards the girl, and has asked me to relay the message that he doesn't want you to interfere with his plans."

"So, he just wants me to put her back where I found her and walk away? I refuse. I'm really doing all of this for him," he said, testing the blade with the edge of his thumb. "Oh well Xellos, it really was good meeting with you like this after so long, but your time is up."

"Do you really mean to get violent?" the priest laughed.

"I do," he said darkly, "and I have every right. Just pull your little cowardly act already, I get so tired of your pretenses."

The priest bowed and disappeared in a static blurred haze.

"There isn't much time left," the chimera said. "He would waste her on one casting of the Giga Slave – he would use such a prize only once. Ha! How foolish! As a human, casting the spell once would kill her, but as a mazoku, she could cast it an indefinite number of times. She could do so much more than destroy our world – she could burn a hole in the universe." He paused, thinking. "I'll have to move even faster now."

He put the sword back on the wall and went to go check on Lina. She was probably famished by now, but he was well prepared for that.


	7. Chapter Seven Man's Road

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

**Chapter Seven - Man's Road**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------**

A Song by Jimmy Webber

Italics – Lyrics

Black – Any Narrative

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_Horizon_

_Rising_

_Up to meet the purple dawn  
Dust demon screaming,_

_Bring an eagle to lead me on  
For in my heart I carry such a heavy load  
Here I am on Man's road,_

_Walking Man's road,_

_Walking Man's road_

The forest was thick around Zelgadis as he walked. It rained the night before and the ground was mud. He was completely miserable, even though it was not raining now. He must have been born under a very unlucky star, or a dead one. _Damn Rezo! _Even if the son of a bitch was dead, it still didn't hurt to damn him once in a while. If he wasn't a chimera none of this would have happened. He never would have gone to the vault in Xoanan looking for their confounded book, and then the rest would not have unfolded the way it did.

Splush!

Zel looked deliberately down. He had stepped in a very deep puddle. The water was half way up his calf. Argh! He pulled his foot out with a scowl and was about to fireball it out of temper before he stopped. That was something Lina would do, just because she was angry. Well, he was angry, but it was only a puddle. He was getting more unreasonable by the moment.

He kept walking.

After he destroyed the dungeon at the castle in Xoanan, he went with all haste to Lina's inn, the Peacock Feather. He went to the counter to inquire after her, only to have the inn keeper tell him that she had left with someone wearing tan robes – exactly like the ones he was wearing. _So, that was the intent of the man I fought in the ballroom._ _He wanted something with Lina_! Zel asked the innkeeper more questions, but the only piece of information he was able to get was that she had left with him willingingly.

Zel didn't like that.

He needed to calm down. He was practically stomping with rage. He looked off into the distance trying to relax himself. Tracking them had not been easy, since Lina had obviously put up no struggle at all, and the man she was with was naturally aware that Zel would come after them and was covering their tracks. Zel wasn't even sure if he was traveling in the right direction, but he had to go on.

Who knew what might be happening to that girl? He remembered the time he had captured her and hung her from the ceiling. _Good times!_ She was a little fireball, just waiting to hatch. Maybe the bloke was unlucky that he had caught such an amiable little fighter. However, if he was able to fool her into believing he really was someone he wasn't . . . damn it! She could look after herself. It wasn't that she needed someone around to watch her to make sure nothing went wrong.

It wasn't so much for Lina as it was for the man he fought in the ballroom, he told himself repeatedly. Zel couldn't allow him to just wander around having stolen his appearance and voice. He hadn't imagined that anyone would ever be interested in those things about him.

There was one more thing that was on his mind. Since Lina told him that Gourry was out of the picture, he had been considering a possibility that had not before seemed possible. She had been with Gourry for as long as he had known her, but if they weren't together anymore . . . ? Would he be able to be her traveling companion? He normally thought of himself as a loner, but Lina? They could only compliment each other, both with their styles and their attitudes. Plus, they were both interested in the same things. Heck, if they were together, he would take her to go re-examine Rezo's mansions, just to see if there was anything there of value to her.

Just then, as he was walking, his knees rubbed against each other. Even though he was wearing pants, there was still the sound of stone on stone.

Everything reminded him of who he _really _was.

He was beginning to feel very downcast. Maybe anger was better. _This is turning out to be a very miserable journey._

  
_I'm hungry,_

_Weary,_

_But I cannot lay me down  
The rain comes,_

_Dreary,_

_But there's no shelter I have found  
It will be a long time till I find my abode  
Here I am on Man's road,_

_Walking Man's road_

Then there was the incident with Gourry.

Zelgadis had not entered the inn that night with the thought that he would find the swordsman. He was not looking for him.

Zel entered the dining room only to have a cup of tea while they prepared his room for him, and there was Gourry. He was sitting at a table with a curvaceous blonde on his arm. Zel couldn't decipher what Gourry had done to earn her since he was unceremoniously wolfing down a five course meal, but there she was. She was even laughing at the scene as though he were a pet of hers.

As disgusted as Zelgadis was at the sight, he wanted to ask Gourry some questions, so he refrained from walking straight out and waiting in the lobby. Instead, he walked directly to the table and grabbed Gourry by the hair, pulling his head back far enough so he could look him in the eye from behind. The gesture was effective, as in Gourry stopped eating, and yet ineffective, as in Gourry's woman did not seem to approve of the treatment. Even so, Zelgadis didn't care what she thought.

"Zelagus?" Gourry asked, swallowing what he had squirreled away in his cheeks, and looking at Zelgadis blankly.

"Zelgadis!" Zel corrected – completely irritated.

"What business do you have with Gourry-sama?" the woman asked in a shrill voice, daggers in her eyes.

Zel didn't look at her, but asked Gourry, "Where's Lina?"

"I dunno. I haven't seen her since I took on the job of . . ."

His women friend cut him off, "_I_ don't think _we_ know who you're talking about."

Zel let go of Gourry's hair, and sat down at the table with a shrug that involved his whole body. "You remember Lina - short girl with red hair who casts a lot of fireballs?"

"The flat chested one?" the woman asked disdainfully.

"Whatever," Zel said rolling his eyes. "Are you sure you haven't seen her?"

Gourry snapped his fingers like he had just had a brilliant idea. "Like I could forget Lina, but I have no idea where she is," he proclaimed promptly and continued eating.

"Are you looking for her?" the woman asked, apparently wishing to be as far away from Zelgadis as he wished to be away from her.

"Hai," Zel answered.

"I'm sorry to say we really don't have any idea what happened to her. I wish you luck in finding her, and hopefully improving her temper," she said, a muscle in her eye brow twitching.

It was then that Zelgadis realized something about the woman – besides her ample breast, she didn't have very thick eyebrows. In fact, it looked almost like she didn't have them. She had thick hair. Why wouldn't she have thick eyebrows? . . . Ah!

"Did you meet her fireball?" Zel asked, watching her reaction very carefully.

Sure enough, the colour rushed to her cheeks, and she huffed.

"You really ought to watch yourself when you're with that one," Zel said, favouring her with one of his classic half smiles. "Anyway, Gourry - Lina's in trouble. Do you want to come with me to help her?"

"I don't see how Gourry-sama could help. It sounds to me like you don't even know where she is," the woman said.

Zel checked his temper. The woman did have a point, he supposed. He examined Gourry. He was looking at Zel and his woman with big eyes. The poor thing didn't have any idea what was going on. Perhaps being out of Lina's influence had done quite a lot to change him. Maybe there really wasn't much point talking to him after all. Well, he would try once more before he gave up.

"Gourry," he said ignoring the woman's attempt to answer for her companion. "I think Lina is in serious trouble. I'm going to help her. Will you come with me?"

  
_Moon rising,_

_Disguising_

_Lonely streets in gay displays  
The stars fade,_

_The night shade falls and makes the world afraid  
It waits in silence for the sky to explode  
Here I am on Man's road,_

_Walking Man's road,_

_Walking Man's road_

It was getting colder now on Zelgadis' road. The way just seemed to be leading further and further north. He was going to need to stop soon, for fatigue, but he wouldn't. He had to keep going. With the temperature the way it was, he was not equipped to simply lie down on the wet grass and get a decent night's sleep. Even with his humanity as meager as it was, that was something he couldn't do. He would have to keep going until he came to a town.

Yes – he was alone. He had not been able to convince Gourry's companion (a woman who wore feminine charms as some men wear swords) to allow Gourry to attend to his friends.

Zelgadis spat, and walked on alone.

_Walking Man's road,_

_Walking Man's road,_

_Walking Man's road_


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

Lina lay on a fur rug on the floor in front of the fireplace. She was in a study now instead of the great hall. Zel had moved her into this room for her to use almost as a bedroom. That way she was close to the books. She had shed her boots and cape, making herself quite at home. At least she felt more comfortable without them.

Lina glanced over at Zel. He was lying on a couch not too far from her reading a book entitled, 'An Astral Body'. He was not wearing his old traveling robes, but a simple white shirt with black trousers. There was a hot little kettle on the floor beside him for an instant tea refill. He seemed . . . relaxed.

She was having a hard time concentrating on the book she was reading. Zelgadis was staring at his book with a fixed interest. He had been reading intently for hours. Anyway, she never caught him looking up.

"Argh!" she grumped in frustration. "This book is sooo boring!"

His head only moved about forty degrees to look straight at her, his eyes pure crystal. "Would you prefer to read something else?"

'You've got that right,' were the words that sprang first to her mind, but for some reason, those feelings were just not inside her anymore. "I'm not sure," she said turning away from his eyes and blushing like she was on fire. She had to stop staring at him. She wasn't a hormonal teenager – was she?

"Why don't you try this?" he asked, handing her a different book.

She took it and read the title - 'Dynast'. Lina knew the name very well. She called power from that particular dark lord when she cast a 'Dynast Blast'. The cover was black leather with the word embossed across the front of it. Lina opened it absently, looking at Zel.

"It's okay," he said. "It's a very good book. I read it a couple of nights ago myself - fascinating fellow. Wouldn't it be wild if it turned out we were in his castle instead of Rezo's?"

The look on his face was pure encouragement. Everything about him was that sort of encouragement – that sort of acceptance. She loved the look on his face . . .

She had a question she wanted to ask Zel, but didn't have the nerve. He said that last line like she ought to know who he was talking about. _Who is Rezo? _Even she thought the name ought to be familiar to her. There was something else as well; she couldn't seem to remember why they had come to this castle at all. They were studying . . . but why? . . . Had someone asked her to come here to study? . . . Was there a problem she was seeking the answer to? . . . She liked being with Zel, but . . . why was she with him?

Her mind seemed to haze over, and she couldn't remember what she had been thinking about. Her head hurt and she was tired._ Maybe I'll ask him later,_ she thought as she cuddled up with the book he gave her.

The mazoku lord's full name was Dynast Grasucherra, she read, scanning the table of contents. One heading caught her attention – 'Physical Appearance'. She remembered that mazoku could choose any form they wanted to, so how could someone have written anything about his physical appearance when it was subject to change? She opened to the page, although she was a little confused.

There was an artist's rendition of him under the subject heading.

_So, this is the face the demon chose - at least once. _They said that his hair was pitch-black and his eyes a dusty grey. _Do_ _I know this man_? She shook her head. It was just an artist's idea of what he looked like after all. _He might not look anything like this,_ she told herself frantically. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the blue stone pendant she had traded her story about Gourry for. The evening came back to her in broken bits and pieces. She had forgotten it. She could not even remember who Gourry was, only that he was a person she talked a lot about that night. Lina remembered thinking that she was just entertaining a rich man with her story because he had nothing better to do that evening. _Not so_, the more she thought about it she knew she had dinner with a demon. She shook her head again. It couldn't be true. She was no one. She was only Zel's companion . . . wasn't she? No mazoku lord would be at all interested in her!

"Where did you get that?" Zel suddenly asked her, an easy smile playing on his lips.

"A stranger," she said.

"It's beautiful. Why aren't you wearing it?" he said. The light in his eyes did not reflect what he said for he seemed to be implying that Lina herself was what was beautiful.

"Is it?" she asked, her natural poise not deserting her, even in her confusion.

He put down his book and came towards her, taking the stone from her hand and kneeling on the rug in front of her. "Do you know what kind of a stone this is? It's an ordinary blue diamond, but with much more grey than any other blue diamond that has ever been excavated. It's quite famous. It even has a name. It's called the Ice Princess. It's very precious. Who ever gave this to you must have loved you very much. Was it really only a stranger?"

"I don't know his name," she confessed.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Maybe you'd better read your book some more. I was going to start preparing dinner in any case," he got to his feet and walked to the door.

"Wait," Lina requested, her mind working very quickly, even though she couldn't remember everything. "Are you implying that Dynast Grasucherra is in love with me?"

His back was to her, and it was tensing up. He stopped walking and turned at the door to look at her. "The only question is – do you love me back?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The snow above him was falling into his eyes.

Zelgadis wasn't feeling very well. He had just robbed a bandit gang out of necessity . . . something he had often wished he would never have to do. He wouldn't have done it, except his usual money-making tricks were not possible. He usually synthesized magical items and sold them at the local shops, but there was no one interested in those kinds of things this far north. He needed supplies badly too. He couldn't wait until the next town to find out if they would be interested in what he had to sell.

He didn't even know how far the next town was. He didn't even know if there was going to be another town. He was so far north now that the snow-scape stretched out before him as a dry desert.

Apparently, whoever he was tracking stopped their attempts to cover their path after he reached a certain point up North, and Zelgadis knew what point that was – on the boarders of the land of Grasucherra. Zelgadis had entered the territory of Dynast Grasucherra. He knew now that it was a mazoku that had borrowed his appearance and fought him in the ballroom. He knew now for certain, and what was worst, that mazoku was leading Lina to the castle of a dark lord.

He clenched his teeth and his fists in one motion. Lina was a black-mage. He wasn't sure what she could do for herself in a situation like this, other than cast a Giga Slave.

_A GIGA SLAVE!?!_

Zelgadis picked up his pace, and soon he was running. He had seen her cast it once, but she said that two other elements helped her in the battle; one was the particle of human consciousness that still existed inside the mazoku, and the other was Gourry's sword of light. It was not something she was able to do on her own.

"RAY WING!" he shouted throwing himself into the air.

He suddenly feared for her terribly. There would be no one there at all to protect her! He might be too late already!

The snow was still coming hard into his eyes – clinging to the wetness on his cheeks.

_Lina . . . _

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"And that was all the answer you got from him?" the dark lord said, absently bouncing a gold ornament between his fingers.

"Hai," the priest answered.

"And he gave you no clue at all as to why he was interfering so blatantly in my plans?"

"He did say one thing Lord Hellmaster," he admitted.

"What was that?" his voice sounding half bored.

"Only that he was doing this for you," the priest said smoothly.

The slits in Phibrizzo's eyes sharpened, "Dynast as well now then? Well, Xellos, maybe I'll have to go with you to see him when you go to his castle again. I wonder if he'll order _me_ out."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authors Notes: Hiya! I know I don't talk too much when I release a story, but now that I have shown who our mystery man is - I have to tell my other secret. If you're a serious Slayers fan and happen to know all about Dynast, there is enough information given about Shadow Zel by the end of chapter three to allude that it was Dynast all along.

Thanks everyone who reviews - you make my day!


	9. Chapter Nine In Your Room

**Chapter Nine - ****In Your Room**

**A Song by Depeche Mode**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Centered Italics – Lyrics

Black – Any Narrative

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was twelve o'clock.

It was time for Dynast to take off his mask and show Lina what he really was. Lina wasn't sure if she wanted to see him as anyone other than Zelgadis. Zelgadis was familiar, and he cared for her. She wasn't sure if she would be able to face the man she had met in the tavern. She studied the outline of his face. It was still Zelgadis' face - a face she was certain she did not imagine. Zelgadis had to be a real person and not someone created only to fool her for Dynast's purposes or pleasure. Finally, she made herself look at his eyes. They were blue with the faintest brush of green – perfect aqua. That was the person she depended on – not the demon Dynast Grasucherra!

"Please don't change," she begged quietly. "I like the chimera."

He turned his back to her and she saw that already the tips of his hair were beginning to turn down and disappear into tangled black hair, cut short. Even his build was changing. Zelgadis was not especially tall; he was light and agile, which wasn't anything like the man in front of her now. He was taller, with snow-white pale skin, and as he turned himself towards her she saw that he had the grey eyes of polished silver.

_In your room  
Where time stands still  
Or moves at your will_

_Will you let the morning come soon  
Or will you leave me lying here  
In your favourite darkness  
Your favourite half-light  
Your favourite consciousness  
Your favourite slave_

"Don't be afraid," Dynast said. "It's just the moon."

His arms caught her around her waist from behind as she went move away from the window. The view overlooked the wasteland of snow to the south.

Only moments before, she had come out of the bath and her flesh was steaming. Before she went in he gave her a white nightgown as well as the furs she was wearing now. She trembled in his arms, feeling fear in the strength of them. The moon was suspended low in the sky and cast powerful shadows onto the two of them making her quiver more.

"It's just my arm," he said, trying to ease her apprehension.

She could feel his breath close and his lips brushing her ear. His words echoed in her head and she couldn't will them away. She felt completely trapped. She didn't have a spell to cast to force him away from her; it made her feel very diminutive – like she couldn't do anything. It couldn't have been she who slew the dark lord Shabranigdo. It had to have been someone else. She sighed in his arms. She used to be more confident.

"Just let go," he whispered.

He was twisting locks of her hair between his fingers.

Her eyes reflected fear in the foreign light.

His kiss was more demanding.

And she was really afraid . . .

_In your room  
Where souls disappear  
Only you exist here  
Will you lead me to your armchair  
Or leave me lying here  
Your favourite innocence  
Your favourite prize  
Your favourite smile  
Your favourite slave_

Zelgadis crept through a window on the second floor. The latch was not locked. The castle was very quiet, and it was very large. His flesh cracked with the cold. Inside was not any warmer than outside – perhaps the drafts came stronger inside than the wind outside. He tried door after door searching for Lina. Every movement was pain, as his body was so cold, but that didn't matter, not when Lina was in trouble like this. He couldn't think of himself – only her.

The feelings he had for her were splinting against him as he searched. He was still fighting the idea that he should care for any person this much, not to mention her. All those times he had suffered jealousy because of her preference for another man. It was hard to believe the man he had envied had thrown her away. Zelgadis owed that his own feelings were pure white, as he would have supported the man of Lina's choice regardless of his feelings. He despised admitting he had ever felt such responsibility for one person he never had a chance to win for himself.

He cast his eyes down.

Zelgadis would never be any woman's choice. Any woman who might accept him would do so by deciding that his appearance did not matter much. That was not good enough for him. He desired so much more than that. He wanted her love for him to include his face, his body, himself – love could not be complete otherwise. Love like that was not possible for him; no one could ever feel that way about him.

He was beginning to panic much more as he had explored an entire wing of the castle and not found her. Perhaps he was already too late, but he knew that Lina had not cast the Giga Slave. That was for certain; the glaciers and ice caps were unharmed by the mass destruction that a Giga Slave could inflict. At least she had not put her own life in danger.

Finally, he came to one door. He thought he heard something going on inside the room. He listened for a moment, before he was certain that he had indeed heard Lina's voice.

His heart seemed to leap up in his chest, and he threw open the door.

Lina was by the window. Her head was held low and her hands were drawn up to her mouth, almost as though she were praying. When he entered, she looked up at him, her face grave and white. Her eyes . . . Lina had never looked at him like that with those eyes. Something must have changed drastically since he had last seen her for her to look at him with eyes like that.

Zel mentally cursed. What had that demon done using his appearance?

She said two words very quietly, and very clearly. "Go away."

He closed the door behind him with a steady hand, as he saw no one else in the room. "I won't leave without you Lina," Zel said as he came towards her.

"Dynast," she said quietly. "You aren't Zel, and it sickens me that you would still think that you could fool me with his eyes. You think all that time you deceived me with that façade would endear you to me? You knew I wouldn't travel with you when you met me in the tavern that night." Suddenly, she met his eyes with hers, and she seemed to choke on her words. ". . . and now you've trapped me here."

Zelgadis examined her face intently, what was she saying?

"Don't look at me like that! You're not Zelgadis!"

"What are you saying Lina?" Zel asked. "I am Zelgadis. I fought with a man who looked exactly like me in the castle at Xoanan. He beat me," Zel admitted, blushing slightly. "I followed you as soon as I could, but . . ."

Lina scowled at him.

"There's nothing I could say to you that would make you believe that I really am myself, is there?" he spat in exasperation.

"I don't know that the real Zelgadis would come this far for me," she responded.

She stood in the clear rouge light in front of him. He wasn't sure what to say to her. He didn't know what happened. Her face didn't look well; she was too pale, and the glow to her face was gone. The moon created a soft halo over her head, and for the first time, Zel considered how beautiful she had become.

It was then that he noticed the necklace around her neck. "Where did you get that?" he asked.

"Dynast . . . you . . . gave it to me . . . a long time ago," she said.

"Why are you wearing it Lina? Take it off immediately!"

"It won't change anything," a calm voice said from the doorway.

_I'm hanging on your words  
Living on your breath  
Feeling with your skin  
Will I always be here_

"It's just an ordinary diamond," Dynast said calmly, carrying his long sword, and coming towards Zel threateningly.

Zel drew his sword. "Fine then. It's an ordinary diamond. Why give Lina such a treasure?"

"I don't have to tell you that," he said coming down on Zel – blade first. "Come on Zel. Please make it interesting for me. I'd hate to kill you in front of the girl without at least a decent fight."

Zel shrugged, parrying the blow. "Well, you beat me before. There's no reason to suppose I'll be able to beat you now."

"Huh?" Dynast mused. "So, why did you come here if you didn't think you were going to be able to conquer me?"

"Because," Zelgadis said, his aqua eyes shining wickedly in the half-light. "I don't have to beat you to win."

"So, you're just here to rescue her. Very interesting Zelgadis," Dynast said, rushing him with another swing. "Then you must have a plan. What's your plan?"

"I'm afraid it was just as you said," Zel admitted. "Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be called from the infinite. RA-TILT!"

The blue light came at Zel's opponent with a rush, but did nothing. In fact, it didn't look like it did any damage at all.

"Damn it," Zel said, taking one jump to land beside Lina. He grabbed her hand.

"That sort of magic is really too weak to threaten me. Do you really want this match to be a repeat of the last one?" Dynast said, lowering his sword a little, and standing taller as if to display his strength.

"I'm sorry Lina," Zel said. "I think the only way we're going to have a chance is if we run for it, but you have to believe that I'm Zelgadis before we go. Do you believe it's really me?"

Lina glanced at Dynast before nodding stoutly.

Zel broke the window behind her with his elbow and threw the pair of them through it. He caught her in his arms and landed on the crisp snow outside with a thud!

"HURRY!" Zel and Lina both screamed at each other as they ran frantically away from the castle.

"He's going to cast something big," Zel said, as he suddenly picked Lina up off her feet. "You can't run worth a damn."

Dynast stood at the window. The wind was rustling his hair . . . "They won't get away," he said darkly with mazoku bloodlust bright behind his grey eyes.

_In your room  
Your burning eyes  
Cause flames to arise  
Will you let the fire die down soon  
Or will I always be here  
Your favourite passion  
Your favourite game  
Your favourite mirror  
Your favourite slave_

Dynast blinked hard. Zelgadis and Lina were up again running, although Zel was not carrying her anymore. Dynast had sent a vicious ice spell towards them. Zel thumped Lina down on the ground in front of him and took the brunt of the spell on his back as there had not been time to cast a defensive spell. Those last two thirds of the chimera's identity definitely showed their worth just then. An ice attack was something his stone golem and demon self could easily shrug off, even if it hurt. Then, if he had underestimated his opponent - he would have to try something more drastic. He didn't want to let go of his precious scheming so easily.

He turned to leave the room.

"Please excuse the interruption," the priest from before said, suddenly appearing in the room. "I am sorry to be interjecting like this, but your actions required immediate attention."

"So?"

"You go too far Dynast," a voice said from just outside the door. "I asked you not to interfere with that girl. I said that I was interested in her and you specifically sought her out and made plans of your own regarding her. It has made me most displeased."

"Please come in, Hellmaster," Dynast said, realizing what must be done, and bringing himself to do it.

"I really don't like to issue out punishments for Shabranigdo, but you, my dearest friend, have overstepped your authority."

"I understand," Dynast said.

He bowed himself, realizing what would happen now that Phibrizzo had come. There would most certainly be consequences for his actions. It didn't matter – it could never matter less what Phibrizzo had in mind for a punishment. He knew at last what he wanted, what he thirsted for and died for.

She would burn a hole in the universe.

_I'm hanging on your words  
living on your breath  
feeling with your skin  
Will I always be here?_

_Will I always be here where it is very clear what is black and what is white?_

---------------------------------

Author's notes: Thank-you very much to everyone who reviewed. I really love comments!


	10. Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

Author's notes: Sorry I took so long with an update. Please review!

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Zelgadis and Lina checked into an inn in the village Zel had just come from. Zel forced himself to show no sign that he had been injured by Dynast's spell until he was safely in his own room. Only then did he allow himself to break down – that is, he fell on his back on the bed and began chanting recovery spell after recovery spell until he worked himself into a trance to match his exhaustion.

His voice was becoming hoarse, and as his heart beat slowly became more regular with the healing taking place within his body, he began to relax. It was then that he was at last able to open his eyes and bring himself again to his feet.

Zel wasn't sure how long he had been there. He needed something to eat to restore his strength . . . and he wanted to see Lina.

He left his room and went over to Lina's, knocking on the door politely and asking her permission to enter the room. She gave it, and he opened the door.

She was lying on the floor in front of a small fireplace, with a small cup of tea in her hand, though it didn't look like she would be able to drink from it without sitting up. Lina was on top of the furs he had found her in and was now wearing what appeared to be a white dress. Her hair was spread out behind her and the light from the fire was accenting her slender body under the light fabric.

"Zel," she said, bringing herself up only a little bit. "Would you like some tea?"

He nodded and sat down in a chair near her.

She poured him a cup and handed it to him. "There is some food over there," she said indicating a small table by the window that was spread out for two people to dine at.

"Is that for us?" Zel asked.

"Well, yes," Lina said, not really showing much interest in it.

"You didn't have to wait for me you know. I wouldn't have minded if you ate without me," he said, trying to sneak in an implied joke about her eating habits.

However, Lina didn't seem to catch the joke, and said earnestly, "I heard you in the other room, chanting. I couldn't eat when I knew you were suffering like that. I wanted to wait until you were healed."

"I see," Zel said, looking down at the small girl, and for a moment she appeared much smaller than he ever thought she was. "Have you lost weight Lina?"

"I don't know," she said.

Zel looked at her again, and he decided that she looked dangerously thin. He glanced again at the meal spread on the little table, and again at Lina. "Will you eat with me? I'll bring the table over here so we can be close to the fire."

She nodded her agreement and picked herself off the floor with her furs to make room for the table. Zel carefully picked the table up – fully set – and carried it over to the fireplace. He was proud of himself that even though he was not yet fully healed, he had not upset any of the cutlery or dishes. Lina looked impressed as well, even though it was only a small thing. With that they sat down together.

Zel took a dinner roll between his fingers and tore it in half while regarding Lina across the table from him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Dynast?" she asked clearly.

Zel assented, "Of course Dynast."

Lina was chewing a piece of dried meat very slowly and deliberately, and staring into the fire. For a moment Zel thought she wasn't going to answer him at all when suddenly she said, "He's in love with me."

Zel didn't choke on or spit out his food, but instead concentrated on Lina with utmost seriousness. His jaw clenched, and he honestly didn't know what to say.

Lina glanced at Zel, "You needn't look at me like that. It's not as if I accepted him or something. Besides, can a mazoku really fall in love?" She laughed, but not heartily, "And he's not just an ordinary mazoku either, he's one of the five dark lords. I ought to fall for him and complete my training as a black mage."

"I don't think that's funny," Zel said, refusing to make light of such a grave situation.

Moments passed. She shrugged her shoulders and returned her attention to her meal.

"You were angry at him for impersonating me though?" Zel asked.

She smiled. "I don't know that you're not him yet. I mean, you proved to me that you were Zel when we were at the castle, but since then you left me alone in this room. Dynast might have switched with you in that time and managed to fool me again into believing that he's you."

"Do you really think that's what's happened?"

"I'll find out soon enough," she said, looking into the fire gloomily again.

"Have you devised a way to tell the difference between us, even when he plays at being me?" Zel asked, hoping she would give him a clue as to how he could identify himself to her.

"Easy. Zelgadis Greywers is not in love with me. He never was and he never will be. If you speak one word to me about how much you care for me, then I'll know that Dynast is you," she said, challenging him.

It was on Zel's tongue to tell her that that was completely unfair, but he managed to keep himself silent. The only thought that appeared in his brain was again the impossibility of ever finding a woman who he cared for who would return his love, but he refused to think about his own problem when Lina had obviously been through a great deal. _What has Dynast done to Lina using my appearance? _Zel wondered for the hundredth time.

He felt sick.

"What's the matter?" Lina asked him suddenly.

"Nothing," Zel said. "I was just wondering what exactly happened between the two of you to sour you against me so. It is completely ridiculous to act as though I care nothing for you. We have been friends, we've been on many adventures, and most recently I followed you up to the North Pole to save you from a mazoku – if you happened to need saving," Zel paused. "I mean, yes, of course I obviously care nothing for you," Zel said, the last line ripe with indignation.

"I'm sorry," Lina said, matching the hostility in his voice. "But, you see, I really thought it was you. From the way he was acting, I really thought you were in love with me."

"You thought_ I_ was in love with you?" Zel asked, his tone softening considerably.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah . . . but then it turned out to be Dynast and not you at all."

"Did he kiss you?" Zel asked with unknown determination.

"Hm," she said, blushing and bringing her hands together as she seemed very excited about the topic. "Did he?"

Zel brought one of his hands into a fist. _Is she flirting with me?_

"Are you sure you want to know?" she asked.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I suppose – since you're such a shy virginal creature. However, I would like to know how you found kissing a freak like a stone golem chimera. Was it pleasant?"

She pouted, "Don't make fun of me Zel or you'll be eating a fireball. Besides, pure girls like me are hard to come by and thus much more desirable than ordinary run-of-the-mill females who have been hopelessly manhandled."

Zel wanted to laugh at this as she had successfully lightened the mood by teasing him about Dynast kissing her, but just as she spoke she brought her hand up to drag all her red curls over to one side and allow her white throat to be accented by the firelight. The light in her eyes was . . . indescribable. Zel suddenly found himself unable to look at her – she was _that_ beautiful.

"And I don't like how you refer to yourself as a freak. You're not! If you manage to be so kind to me, why can't you be so kind to yourself?" she questioned.

"And you?" he asked, wanting to change the subject. "How did you react to this news that I had fallen in love with you?"

"Well," Lina said. "It would be hard to explain to you."

"Will you try?"

"I don't know," she said, getting up from the table, and standing right by the fireplace. "I want to tell you a lot of things. You know, about what happened and such, but I just don't think I can."

Zel got up too, and walked up close to her. "Lina, once again, you really don't have to tell me what happened. It's not really any of my business, but I would like you to answer one question for me."

She nodded.

Zel continued, "You said that you didn't think I was a freak. I know you have never thought I was, but I was wondering if my appearance would have been the thing that caused you to reject Dynast? Even if the answer is not very nice, even if it's hateful – I really want to hear it."

Lina sighed. "Do you really believe that there is no possibility that a woman could care for you in that way because you are a chimera?"

Zel didn't answer her, but looked at her intently.

"I see," she said. "I can see that it would hurt you far more, if I kept the truth to myself, than it would hurt me to tell you the true state of affairs," she took a deep breath. "Please promise me that what I'm about to tell you – that you'll never bring it up again, or make fun of me later for it."

"I promise," he said softly, getting the feeling that she was about to admit something quite serious. He kept his eyes fixed on her, wanting very much to hear what she was about to say.

"Okay then," she said, seeming satisfied with his word. "Dynast did not confess that he was in love with me until he simultaneously confessed that he was not Zelgadis Greywers, but Dynast Grasucherra. What I am about to say is the part that I do not want mentioned to me again," she took a deep breath, taking a moment to prepare herself for what she was about to say. "Had he not confessed that he was Dynast – I'm not sure how things would have played out. That's why it is hard to explain to you – I would have spent the rest of my life completely devoted to him."

"Devoted? What does that mean Lina?"

She turned and her eyes were brimming with liquid. "It is so hard to say," she said. "Especially to you because you don't share my feelings, but I cannot allow you to go throughout your life – no matter who you might love – with the false idea that your stone golem aspect ruins your chance for true romantic feeling. That can't be the case when I love you so deeply."

Zelgadis could not believe her words. "Do you really mean what you just said, Lina?" Zel asked.

"You don't have to do anything for me Zel. I know that you can't care for me like that. I believe you when you tell me that you are my friend, and I'll have to be content with that," she said, turning away from him.

He caught her wrist.

"Please . . . Lina?" he said gently. "If you stand still for one moment . . ."

"What Zel? There's no reason for you to make excuses for me. You don't have to say anything to make your rejection of me easier on me. I was not expecting you to share my feelings. Please don't make my confession a mistake by making yourself uneasy about my feelings. I . . ." she said, attempting to free her wrist.

"If you would just stand still for one moment," he said, interrupting her. "I could tell you . . ."

"I said it before Zel," she said, her voice becoming more heated. "You don't have to tell me anything!"

He clamped his other hand over her mouth before she could say another word.

"I could tell you that I love you," he said.

He took his hand off her mouth and looked into her eyes sincerely. Her eyes examined his – very carefully.

Before he knew what he was doing he had brought her into his arms and for the first time in his life bent to kiss Lina. He kissed her lightly at first and then pulled away to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were closed, but she was smiling. He kissed her again, and again. He had never done this before and could only barely feel her lips with his kiss, but from the sound of her breathing he could tell that he was perhaps being too rough with her and lightened his touch a little. He couldn't feel her properly, he knew that and tried to appreciate what he could – how she smelled, how she tasted . . . he was suddenly thankful that at least _that_ was not spoilt for him.

Then suddenly, she fell limp in his arms.

"Lina?" Zel asked, wondering if he had gone too far and this was her way of telling him so, but she didn't move when he pulled off. She had fainted. He was confused at first, but at last decided to flatter Lina by believing that she really was as innocent as she'd always said she was. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed. There was a tear running down her cheek, and he smiled as he knew it was a remnant of the tears she'd shed at being forced to tell him her love for him. She had been much braver than he had been willing to be, but it seemed that she really did need someone to protect her, and he resolved that he would be that for her for the rest of his life. He covered her gently with her furs and took her hand in his to kiss it.

His heart seemed to swell up in his chest. Oh, he was happy. He had never been happier in his life and Lina . . . he would make her this happy. No matter how long it took – he would make her happier than she had ever been.


	11. Chapter Eleven Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka. 

**Chapter Eleven - Halo**

**A Song by Depeche Mode**

* * *

Centred Italics – Lyrics 

Black – Any Narrative

* * *

Dynast walked through the halls of his castle. They were as cold as ever, but he didn't bother to light any of the fireplaces. He felt the cold a little, but at this precise moment, he just wasn't thinking much about his own comfort. There was no fiery young woman to protect or to preserve, so it might be as cold as diamond sleet for all he cared. It wasn't that he was depressed or angry about Lina being so forcefully removed from the castle. The plain truth was that although Dynast had not expected Zelgadis to barge in at that exact moment, it did wonders for his own plans. It made for a far better situation when Hellmaster made his entrance and declared his punishment; that Dynast would be exiled to his own castle for X amount of years. It wasn't that Dynast cared if he were punished either. He didn't care, and in truth, had completely expected to be imprisoned like this from the start. It didn't matter to his plans at all.

Now he was walking up a rounded staircase that led him to one of the spires of the castle. The further he got the more difficult the stairs were to negotiate with, as the rock was crumbling to nothing, but he insisted on traveling to the top of the tower by placing each of his boots on the appropriate stair; one foot after another. For some reason it didn't seem at all right to teleport to the top. He wanted to walk with his own feet – perhaps to prove to himself how sincere his intentions towards Lina really were. He would travel her way by keeping his feet on the ground once more – for one last time.

He remembered her now, thinking of the crimson tide of her blood. Ah, how he longed to hear that powerful little sorceress scream. The waiting was terrible as they traveled together, but what a scream she had! He had waited and waited until the time was right, and his timing was always flawless. He had proved himself right with his last moments with her before Zelgadis appeared. _Those_ moments were fresh in his mind, and her incredible soul unforgettably stained on every edge of his senses. He wanted her beside him again.

At last, he came out on the top of the tower. The air was deadly cold around him, but he opened his mouth and said the words that were on his mind.

_"You wear guilt  
Like shackles on your feet  
Like a halo in reverse"_

Lina woke up the next morning to a little itch behind both of her eyes. A faint light from the window lighted the room a little and she could make out a few things in the room. She saw that there were furs and blankets around her, but she had kicked them all off during the night. She thought of starting another fire in the grate, but decided to go have a bath in the hot springs first and send a servant to light the fireplace for her. The cold hadn't bothered her last night as much as it bothered her on the way up north, but Zelgadis seemed to keep himself by the fire constantly, so she would have it lit in case he came to visit her.

The floor was freezing as she tried to get out of bed, but there was no use for it if she was going to get to the baths, and she ended up running all the way to the hot springs on her tippy toes.

When she first let herself into the water it hurt a little, but she forced herself to endure it, because she remembered that she had always liked hot springs in the past.

At first, as she tried to relax herself, she thought only about Zel. She was naturally suspicious as to whether or not he was really Zel or Dynast. In the end, she concluded that it had to be Zel. Dynast could have never faked insecurity – mazoku are not insecure.

She thought about Zel's kiss and the blackness that had followed. She touched her lips with her fingers, remembering how hard he had been on her. Maybe that was all it was, she had never been kissed before, maybe that was how it was done. He was really beautiful. She remembered how much restraint she had to exercise not to tell him how ultimately provocative she thought his body and mannerisms were, since she was discussing the topic. How could he have ever thought that he was not capable of attracting a woman? Totally ridiculous!

The water was finally starting to warm her up a little bit and she started to take in her surroundings, when suddenly something caught her eye. There was a mark on her chest. It was about six centimeters long and a little under one centimeter wide. It was pure white, and somehow reminded her of a scar, but she had never had an injury exactly over her heart.

She was trying to remember. It was hard to remember – she almost didn't want to, but the memory was coming to her unbidden.

_"I can feel  
The discomfort in your seat  
And in your head it's worse"_

Lina had been standing by the window with Dynast. His arms were around her and he was whispering things into her ear. He had turned her around to face him; to bring his mouth close to hers. Dynast's grey eyes seemed to become darker and darker. She thought he was going to hurt her, and she felt his hands on her back. One of his hands was holding something . . .

What was he holding?

He brought his hand around slowly and showed her what it was. The sight of the jagged metal blade shocked her. What was he planning to do with that? But, then he told her.

"I can't have you all to myself unless you're really mine. Humans belong to no one but each other. Just remember, mazoku are the same," Dynast said smoothly – like milk.

He was too swift for her to stop him and before she knew it the dagger was not only in her chest, but protruding from her back. She was coughing blood . . . but his arms were still around her, and he removed the dagger with one motion. Then what did he do?

_"There's a pain  
A famine in your heart  
An aching to be free"_

This part she could not remember. The next thing she did remember was coming out of the bath with a towel around her and he gave her a white dress. It had not been long after that that Zelgadis had come to rescue her. But Dynast . . .

_"Can't you see  
All love's luxuries  
Are here for you and me"_

Her head became very fuzzy again. Why should she care what happened to Dynast? He hadn't come after her, had he? No. Zel was the one who cared for her. She loved Zel back too so, why should she care what happened to Dynast? Why should it matter to her in the least? Why did she want to see him so bad suddenly? She didn't love him so, why was she feeling like this?

Lina's eyes were hurting now; everything was blurring. She lurched out of the hot spring to dry off and get her clothes on before she passed into darkness again. She tried to focus on the thought that she didn't want to be naked if she lost consciousness again. She dried off slowly with the only towel she could find and pulled on her undergarments even though she feared her head would crack against the floor for how dizzy she was becoming. She tried, but she was unable to keep herself together another moment and fell to the floor.

Brilliant white!

_"And when our worlds they fall apart  
When the walls come tumbling in  
Though we may deserve it  
It will be worth it"_

Lina did hit the floor, but it was not the floor she was expecting. It was not the cobblestone of the area around the hot springs, but very cold carpet. Her head suddenly felt uncommonly clear and she lifted her eyes to see where she was.

His grey eyes arrested her, but she saw that it was Dynast who sat happily on his throne. He rose to his feet as she attempted to stand. His eyes were unwaveringly set upon her as he suddenly began singing. What was he singing – his voice so deep and ringing - it was the voice she heard before.

_"Bring your chains  
Your lips of tragedy  
And fall into my arms"_

He stood in front of her now. The pull of him was irresistible; she wanted to be near him so badly and she had no idea why. Why did she want to be here? She was thinking rashly, trying to come up with an explanation for the impossible.

"What am I doing here?" she cried. "Why did you bring me back here?"

"Oh, Lina-chan," he said, placing a hand on his hip. "You came here on your own."

She gritted her teeth, glaring at him. Looking down, she spotted the white streak marked on her flesh, and she remembered the sight of the bloody gash that was practically a crater in her chest only the day before. The sight had been hidden from her mind until now, but she saw the blood spreading and spraying in the past of her mind's eye.

"What did you do to me?" she asked, her voice hallow.

"Surely, you remember by now. You must remember your blood, and everything around you becoming extremely quiet until you heard the wild beatings of your new mazoku body. Tell me about how much it hurt and how new you felt when I welcomed you out of the water," Dynast said, not taking another step towards her.

With his words, her very last doubts trickled away from her. He had no love for her; he had made her his servant – no, his slave.

_"And when our worlds they fall apart  
When the walls come tumbling in  
Though we may deserve it  
It will be worth it"_

_

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_

Author's Notes: hehehehe . . . I love it when Lina goes mazoku! I don't know why it makes me ridiculously happy, but it does. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!_  
_


	12. Chapter Twelve

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Zelgadis found himself standing on the same street corner that he had stood on exactly an hour ago, and exactly two hours before that. If this was that girl's idea of a joke . . .

He sighed.

He wouldn't normally be this frustrated, except that he was worried about Lina. Not only that, but he still didn't feel like himself. He was still under the weather from his trek up north and his confrontation with Dynast. He thought he was feeling better the night before, but that was when he was eating with Lina. When he discovered she was gone in the morning – he felt acute disappointment. Where had she run off to?

Zel had searched the inn at least six times. The only place he had not explored was the women's hot spring, but he sent girls in three times to see if Lina were relaxing in the baths. He was certain that they had all searched quite earnestly, and that she was not there. Then he began making his rounds around town. She wasn't in any of the shops or the restaurants. He even began knocking on the doors of private residences to see if someone had seen her or if for some reason she were visiting with the people who lived in the village. No one had seen her.

Now he took one final glance around the street before he stepped into the local tavern. He had already been in the tavern at least three times, but he was going in this time to get some hot tea. As, he stepped in he took a survey of who was there. Most everyone looked the same except for one person sitting in the corner. Zel had been all over the small village, but he knew he had not seen that person before. It appeared to be a priest, but Zel had not seen a church anywhere in the town. Zel decided that after he got his tea at the bar, he would go ask the man if he had seen Lina.

The barkeep seemed relieved that Zel was at last going to order something and gave him a cup immediately. With the warm drink in his hand, Zel made his way over to the priest's table.

"Excuse me," Zel said, "but have you seen a young girl walking around town. Red hair, red eyes," Zel said, beginning to describe her.

"Red eyes?" the priest said, looking up from behind his bangs, so Zel could see his indigo eyes a little.

Zel wondered immediately if he had been mistaken about the man being a priest. A holy man could not look that dangerous, but he wore the robes of a priest . . .

"A girl with red eyes," the man repeated again. "Have I seen one?" The man stopped talking and seemed to be pondering the question. "I confess, I saw a one with red hair, but I was not close enough to see what colour her eyes were. Gomen," the man said, returning to his own drink.

"Where did you see her?" Zel asked.

The man picked up a spoon and began stirring his drink casually. "Inside the Dark Lord Dynast's castle, earlier this morning – where else would I have seen her?"

Zel's eyes opened wide. "That can't be possible!"

"I don't lie," the man said seriously.

"Did Dynast steal her away in the night? I didn't even hear or feel him coming . . ."

"If you look at it objectively – there is no way Dynast would have taken her during the night, so don't beat yourself up," the man said mockingly, interrupting Zel's tirade. "Let me ask you a question. Do you know any of the characteristics of a fledgling mazoku?"

"What are you talking about?" Zel demanded, not really understanding how the two things were linked.

"I was merely asking you a question," the man said with a pleasant smile.

Zel suddenly sat down at the table, hoping to talk to the man more privately. The entire dining room didn't need to hear their conversation. "Is there such a thing?" he asked.

"But of course," the man said. "Mazoku have two different ways of being created. Do you know what they are?"

Zel was curious as to where this conversation was going, and wondered how it could have anything to do with Lina being back at Dynast's castle, but still Zel had seldom met anyone who could equal his knowledge of magic – perhaps Lina. It made it so that he was interested in the conversation regardless of his impatience. Besides, maybe this man could explain what happened to take her back to the castle. "I would assume that one way would be simply the birth of a mazoku," Zel said.

"Very good, this is the most common method, though it is not performed very often. Do you know how it is different from the birth of a human or a dragon? Both in relationship and methodology?" the man continued.

Zel thought about this for a moment. "I would assume that the relationship would be more like the relationship from master to minion rather than the relationship between parent and child."

"And the methodology?"

"I can't imagine mazoku mating in the same sense as a dragon, human, or mammal, though I do not possess much knowledge on the subject. I would guess that it would be something more like a reptile with the female laying the eggs and the male fertilizing them, or something of the sort. I just can't imagine the nature of a mazoku coinciding with human or dragon ideas about mating," Zel said, expressing ideas that had never occurred to him before. He was only thinking of these things now because of the question the stranger had asked.

"You're quite right, the ideas are quite different. Pure mazoku are not male or female, except in how they appear on this plane. Your idea about eggs is quite interesting, and honestly quite a reasonable deduction, but in any case, it is not correct. A mazoku does not need a partner in order to create a minion, for you must understand that they would not refer to the mazoku they have created as their child. Now can you tell me about the abilities and powers of such a minion?" the stranger posed to Zel.

"The only thing I can think of as a restriction to their power is that they could not be more powerful than the mazoku who created them. Am I wrong?" Zel asked.

"No, not at all – that's quite true. Not only that, but the theory goes a bit further than that, so that a mazoku can choose exactly how powerful their minion will become. Okay, enough about all that, now let's discuss the other way in which a mazoku may be created. Did you say you weren't clear on another way in which it could be done?"

Zel nodded.

"All right then, I'll explain a little bit about it to you. In this second method of creating a mazoku, two people are involved. I would like to stress very seriously that the nature of a mazoku is quite different than the nature of a dragon or human. Mazoku do not 'love', so that feeling is not at all present in this method of reproduction. The first person involved would be the mazoku performing the 'act', and the second would be a member of any other species. This method will not work with two mazoku. Can you tell me what happens from what I have already explained?"

"You have described the absence of love, so I can only imagine that the feeling existing would be something contrary to love. I wouldn't say hate, even though that is the first feeling I think of that contradicts love. Pure love is supposed to be very giving and selfless, so I would say that the opposite would be selfish and . . . I know!" Zel excitedly proclaimed the word, "Ambitious."

For a moment the stranger looked stunned, or at least surprised at this declaration as his mouth hung open for a moment. Then he recovered himself and said at last, "Very impressive. Have you discovered what physical act is required?"

Zel sat and thought for a moment, trying to reason what he could. What was the member of the other species for? If a mazoku could create another, even without a partner, then what did they need the other person for? It couldn't be for a part of their body, because the stranger said that there was no limitation on what species it was, as long as it wasn't a mazoku. Then it occurred to Zel that there must be something special about the second individual involved in the process. It couldn't have anything to do with their body; it had to be their mind or personality that was important. The mazoku must want that person as one of their minions because of their intellect or traits. That was it! The person was going to become a mazoku.

Zel said as much aloud.

"Yes," the stranger said, "but you still haven't told me what the physical process is."

"Torture? Murder?" Zel said, guessing what the answer could be.

"You're quite right," the man said very calmly. Then he leaned over the table and said very quietly to Zel, "Only a person who has been slain in a very personal way by a mazoku can be reborn as a fledgling mazoku."

Zel stared, his heart seemed to stop. He suddenly got to his feet and blurted out, "Are you saying that my friend Lina has been murdered, and reborn as a mazoku? Is that what you're saying?"

The strange man didn't start from his position and instead leaned back to take another slow drink from his cup. "It's obvious you didn't know. If you had known, you never would have bothered to rescue her. In fact, you wouldn't have even made it as far as town with her if Hellmaster and I had not intervened. Didn't you wonder why Dynast didn't come after you?"

"Hellmaster?" Zel said on dry lips, as he unintentionally stepped back, knocking the chair he had been sitting on backwards. How had the highest of the five dark lords become involved? "This can't be true."

The man stood up and came up beside Zel only to say quietly in his ear. "There is no creature on this earth more loyal than a fledgling mazoku – that is their only characteristic. Lina has gone back to Dynast – she wouldn't have been able to resist him." He moved just a little as though he were going to leave, but then seemed to think better of it and turned around to say one more thing. "When you're ready to talk just call for me; my name is Xellos."

* * *

Author's Notes: Hiya! Just as a quick note - this chapter was originally about twice as long, but I decided that it had to be cut into two chapters, so the next chapter will be coming out right away, as it's already finished. I just have to do some finishing touches on it and it'll be coming out right away.  



	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Although Zelgadis was on the verge of a meltdown at Xellos' words, he decided to go back to Dynast's castle to see if Lina was really there before he allowed himself to break down. Xellos might have a motivation for deceiving him, although Zelgadis couldn't see what that motive might be, he could see no reason why he should just take his word for it.

The trip back to Dynast's castle was as unpleasant as the first, even though Zel employed all his skills as a demon to speed the journey up. It was still blasted cold, and the sky that had been hovering between rose and violet was slowly sinking further into the more royal purples. This far north, days did not exist as they did in more temperate regions and a seemingly endless night was about to begin.

Zel tried to think of things he had noticed about Lina the night before to prove or disprove what Xellos had told him. He went over their time together since he had retrieved her from the castle, for Xellos implied that she was a re-born mazoku before they left. Zelgadis thought and considered and mixed things up again. Not just one thing pointed out Xellos' words to be true, but all of them. Lina had not been particularly interested in the food, she showed no symptoms of being too hot or too cold, but that the temperature of the room meant nothing to her, and the largest thing of all was that she fainted when he kissed her. At the time he believed that it was something to do with her innocence, but now he understood that it was nothing of the sort. If she were a mazoku, then that sort of positive emotion might have been too much for her to bear.

At last he appeared at the front gates of the castle. He wasn't at all eager to learn if what the priest had said was true, but Zel had never been one to hesitate and soon found another window to break for him to gain entrance to the castle. The halls felt colder than they had the first time he had come, but Zel's determination to find Lina was the same and he proceeded even though his body was aching with the cold.

At last he found the throne room. It was a large lofty room with many galleries. He stood at one of these and saw Dynast walking around the room in a circle saying things. At first he could not see what Dynast was circling as there was a pillar in the way, neither could he hear what he was saying. Zelgadis was careful to be extremely quiet as he made his way to a closer gallery to see what was going on.

Zel kept his jaw clenched as he saw that the thing Dynast was talking to and walking around was indeed Lina. She was wearing a white dress, but not the same one she had worn before. It had long transparent sleeves that hung like bells around her, and long white ribbons that hung at her wrists and shoulders. The neckline was square, and accented the shape of her face well. It seemed to Zel that she was wearing a dress to be married in. Zel was about to turn away in disgust when he spotted something by the neckline of her dress that caught his interest. The dress exposed a white line that disappeared into her clothing. Zel knew immediately that it was the mark of where Dynast had wounded her to make her his own.

"Now Lina," Dynast said to her with what seemed to be marked interest. "Call upon the power within yourself to cast a spell."

Lina just stood there like she was under a spell herself. Then it seemed that she stood very still and at last a faint shadowing appeared around her. There was no need for an incantation when one controlled the power from inside one's very own being. Suddenly she turned her face to where Zel could see her better in the light and she opened her eyes – slitted eyes – mazoku eyes.

Zel felt exceptionally sick, and could force himself to watch no more. He backed away from the gallery and down the hall. He was intruding horribly on a scene he never wished to see.

* * *

Now Zel sat in his room at the inn. His body hurt desperately, but he could not bring himself to cast a recovery spell on himself. If he did not know how to cure a chimera how on earth could he cure a mazoku? Was there even a way to save her now? 

This was a melancholy he had never partaken of. Always, he had felt sorry for himself, sorry for his own body, his own lost humanity. His regrets must be nothing compared to Lina's. There had to be something remaining of the real Lina in the white-clad mazoku. There had to be, otherwise there would be no motive behind why Dynast had wanted her particularly as his servant. Why had Dynast wanted her so especially? What was so fabulous about her that he wanted her?

Zel knew.

Zel knew exactly what was so special about Lina. He knew the reasons why he wanted her to himself so much, but could not think of a reason why Dynast should want her since mazoku were incapable of love. Was a mazoku that had once been human incapable of love as well?

Zel shrugged – he was having a difficult time putting himself together and figuring out what was to be done now. All he knew now was that he had been too late to save Lina. He also felt like a fool for his happiness the night before. He thought that he had saved Lina, and that life was full of new blossoming possibilities because she declared her love for him, but he had been inexpressibly stupid.

Suddenly, Zel raised his head and saw that he was not alone in the room. The man who called himself Xellos was leaning against the wall by the door.

"How did you get in?" Zel asked dryly.

Xellos ignored his question and said, "You never would have called to ask for my help, would you?"

Zel shook his head. "Probably not," he said. "Why on earth would you want to help me? Besides, I really have no idea who you are."

"I'm the Trickster Priest, or would you prefer my other title, the Mysterious Priest?" Xellos said, regarding Zel quite seriously.

"Trickster? All the more reason for me to refuse to have anything to do with you - I've had about all I can stand of tricks lately," Zel said leaning back.

"I'm the Priest/General of Zelas Metallium, not that that is something I normally tell people. In fact, I wouldn't have told you at all except that I have been ordered to make you an offer. Something I think you'll be very interested in and I doubt you would believe that I was authorized to make such an offer unless I revealed who exactly I really am," Xellos said.

"Zelas is involved in this as well as Hellmaster and Dynast? Man alive, this is getting insane! Why are all these dark lords so interested in Lina?" Zel asked leaning back in his chair and wishing desperately that he had something to cure his uneasiness about the whole affair.

"Zelas is not involved in this – directly," Xellos said. "Hellmaster Phibrizzo is the head of the five dark lords, and he asked Zelas if he would be able to use my services. He lost all his followers in the War of the Monster's Fall and has had none since. Generally, he gets on very well on his own, but felt he needed my specific qualities for this mission of his. So, when I speak I am speaking for Hellmaster and not Zelas, though Zelas is my true master."

"Go on," Zel said, wanting to know why Hellmaster was paying so much attention to him.

"Forgive me, I will be incredibly blunt. Recent events have caused Hellmaster to take a very peculiar interest in you. As, I said before, he has no followers of his own and has not created any new mazoku for over a thousand years. Of course when a dark lord distributes power to a minion, a little of his own power must go into the creation of the demon. Hellmaster has been a most careful lord over his own power and thus his powers very much exceed the other four dark lords, but lately he has seen that it is not enough to operate by himself. Dynast and Gaav have both gone beyond their authority and Hellmaster has needed to borrow me. In order to keep control of the situation he had asked me to make an offer to you. He needs a servant."

"You're asking me to join the monster race?" Zel said, his depression over Lina stopping him from spitting in Xellos' face.

"The sort of offer I'm going to make you is actually most flattering. It's not an immortality pledge or something else weak like that. It is the offer to become a re-born mazoku and become his General," Xellos said triumphantly.

Zel stared intently at Xellos. "You can't mean that? Why the hell would he be so interested in me?"

"You said yourself earlier that there must be something very special about the person that makes them a desirable servant," Xellos said.

"Care to expand a little bit on that whole idea?" Zel asked sharply.

"You have always thought yourself at a disadvantage because you're a chimera, but I'll explain to you why it's a huge advantage in this situation. You see, there is a portion of the person left over even after they are re-born as a mazoku – a fairly large portion. That's why mazoku mostly prefer to create pure mazoku rather than use individuals from other species. Phibrizzo considers using humans in this process most filthy, after he's seen all the trouble inflicted when Gaav was forced into a human body. Phibrizzo would never want a human involved in this process, but you . . . you've already been most forcefully removed from humanity. You're powerful as you are now, but with Hellmaster's power you could be unconquerable – a most powerful mazoku."

Zelgadis didn't know what to say to Xellos.

"You're considering his offer?" Xellos asked. "Well, then I must hurry and confess the last parts of the proposal. Remember, will you, that a large portion of a human transformed into a mazoku is still present? And remember also that a mazoku may choose how powerful his minion will become? Lina was not given as much power as a priest or a general. Dynast has a pair of very serviceable priests and a general, and did not bestow even near that same amount of power on her. If you agree to Hellmaster's offer, and become his General, not only will you have been given much more power than Lina, but I will help you remove her from the castle – so you can have her to yourself."

Zel didn't say anything at first. He sat and thought desperately what he could do in a situation like this. "Leave me alone for a little while," he said, "I want to think about this more carefully."

"There is one more thing," Xellos said.

"Well, it will have to wait," Zel said. "I have to think about what you have already told me. Take off!"

"As you say," Xellos said, and took his leave.

* * *

"What were your impressions of him, Xellos?" Hellmaster asked significantly. 

"As I said earlier," Xellos said. "I think him remarkably intelligent. I think he would make an outstanding general, and I hope very seriously that he will resolve to take you up on your offer. However, he didn't give me the chance to talk to him about the weapon we must acquire before any of this can be done."

"That's too bad," Phibrizzo said. "Do you think he will mind very much having to steal the Sword of Light from his old traveling companion before any of this can be accomplished?"

"It's hard to say, but I think not. Of course I don't think he'll particularly relish going to steal a weapon specifically to be used to slay him. It seems rather grim, but," Xellos said more cheerfully, "Once he learns that the weapon is also to be a present for Lina – I'm sure he'll come around."

"Is that so?" he paused. "Do you think he understands what exactly will happen to him if he agrees?" Hellmaster's reptile green eyes were shining in the half light.

"I did tell him that there was no greater characteristic of a fledgling mazoku then their unfailing loyalty to their creator," Xellos admitted.

"Does he realize that feeling will banish all his thoughts and ideals about Lina?"

"I don't know," Xellos said.


	14. Chapter Fourteen Dream of You

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Dream of You - by Schiller**

* * *

Lyrics – Centered Italics

Narrative - Black

* * *

The room seemed strangely quiet to Zelgadis after Xellos left. It was a curious idea that the Priest suggested – that he become a mazoku. The notion was in direct opposition to what Zelgadis had been thinking previously. He was thinking that he had to save Lina and find a way to make her human again, but what if the answer was not to bring her back to his plane, but to cross over to hers? It was definitely an interesting concept.

Zelgadis thought about himself then, and his fruitless search for a cure. He had learned from Shabranigdo himself that there was no cure for him among the monster race – right before Lina killed him. Zel put his head back and remembered how powerful she had been as she wielded the sword of light, and her scarlet hair turned snow white . . .

And if he didn't take this chance he would be without her forever!

_I've been here all the time_

_As far as I know doing right_

_I've always waited for the moment_

_That you would come through my door_

He got up from his position and moved to look out the window – beyond everything – in the direction of Dynast's castle. Xellos had offered to help him retrieve Lina from Dynast if he would become Hellmaster's general. Zel considered that simply removing her from the castle would probably not be enough; she would simply go back again. He knew that her love for him had not been enough to keep her by his side last time – he would need more leverage.

Would he be able to convince her to stay with him because of their attachment? How could you get through to a mazoku? He didn't know and found himself shaking his head mournfully – he would have to defeat her in battle to get her attention. Zelgadis put a hand to his brow and found that he was sweating heavily . . . _well, no wonder_! He was actually contemplating violently hurting someone he loved.

He turned away from the window in disgust and tried to consider other options. This was disappointing. The only thing he could think of was again searching for a cure – not just for himself, but also for Lina.

_But this brought loneliness so far_

_I lay my hand onto my heart_

Could he really abandon her to the monster race?

Could he really become a mazoku in an attempt to raise her feelings for him?

_Is this the life I want to live?_

_Is this the dream I had of you?_

Zelgadis tried to sleep that night. He took off his shirt and made himself see the horrors of his chimera state. He was trying to decide if he could knowingly make his curse worse – if he could do that to himself with his mind in full acceptance of the consequences – for Lina?

It seemed like unthinkable evil to him, but what else could he do?

He paced.

When Zelgadis finally stood, exhausted beyond all thought, in front of the window in his room, he realized that the morning was never going to come – it was only going to get darker. He frowned. He had spun in circles all night placing his own righteousness beside his love for Lina. Would she still love him if he were not himself? If he gave up what was most precious about himself for her, would she still care? Did he still love her even though she was not herself? He found that he did – he still wanted her even if she was fifty times the demon he suspected she was. He wanted her regardless of the consequences.

And he knew his choice was made.

"Xellos," he said weakly to the windowpane.

Zelgadis didn't think the mazoku would have heard him, but Xellos appeared promptly at the other end of the room, sitting with his legs drawn up by the fire, which had suddenly sprung up with his arrival. "What's your pleasure?" he said, keeping his eyes squarely on Zelgadis.

_So, this is what a demon really looks like_, Zel thought. Xellos looked every bit the devil he said he was, as the flames licked his white skin and reflected his vile violet eyes.

"So, I'd become like you? My eyes would become slitted – like an animal's if I became a mazoku?" Zelgadis asked, looking intently at Xellos.

"Naturally. Actually, I think you'll be quite pleased with your mazoku skin," Xellos said.

"Why is that?"

Xellos smiled, "Because your skin can look like anything you want. If you want to look human again – you can. Every mazoku has different levels of power and different forms to accompany them."

"Is the form you're wearing very powerful?" Zel asked.

"Very."

"What will I be like?"

"Exactly what Phibrizzo-sama makes you – and that will be very powerful also," Xellos said. "Have you thought about his offer for long enough? Can I discuss the last condition, or rather, benefit?"

Zel nodded.

"You see Zelgadis, we run into a slight problem with regards to your stone skin. Hellmaster had me do a little research, and there really is no other way to slice into you, than with the Sword of Light. Granted, there are many ways to kill you (we could suffocate you or poison you) but he will need to break your skin for the transformation to be successful. This means that we'll have to steal the sword from its owner, Gourry Gabriev. I'll go with you."

Zelgadis' eyes popped open. "What?"

"There is one other reason why we need to get the sword. Hellmaster was thinking that it would be an excellent gift for Lina."

Zel remembered his earlier thought about leverage, and what he would need to get Lina's attention. There was no doubt that the Sword of Light would get her attention. Then, suddenly, he remembered his vision of her wielding the sword to destroy Ruby Eye himself. That sealed it.

Hell, even he was starting to think this was a good idea.

"Let's go," Zelgadis said moving towards the bed and snatching up his shirt, which he immediately threw over his head. "We're wasting time."

"Does this mean you've agreed to become Hellmaster's general?" Xellos asked, still keeping his eyes fixed on Zel.

"That's exactly what it means. Let's move!" Zel said, pushing the door open and moving out into the corridor.

"Exactly what I thought you meant," Xellos said in satisfied tones.

_But this brought loneliness so far_

_I lay my hand onto my heart_

_Is this the life I want to live?_

_Is this the dream I had of you . . ._

_The dream I had of you?_

It was night in the little village where Gourry and his woman were set up. Zelgadis had his mask pulled up around his face. Even through the fabric, as he breathed up the thick night air, he thought about how grateful he was to be away from the far north.

He and Xellos had agreed that Xellos would keep Gourry's little woman occupied while Zel removed the sword from Gourry. Zel half wished that he could have stood on that's woman's hair instead of having to actively betray someone he knew, but Zel would always do whatever it took to achieve his objectives.

Zel was perched outside their window now. Neither of them had retired to their bed for the night, so Zel was waiting for them to. Eventually, both of them stumbled in. It looked to Zel that they had both had too much to drink. The woman was partway undressed before they reached the bed, but Gourry hit complete unconsciousness as he fell back on the mattress, so the woman straightened her dress and walked directly out of the room again. Zelgadis guessed that Xellos had already spoken to her, and probably convinced her to discard her usual escort in his favour. Xellos had hinted to him that would be his tactic.

Zel shrugged his shoulders, whatever worked.

Zel had unlocked the window ages ago, and now just had to open it to gain access to the room. He slipped in with the agility of a ninja, and made his way over to Gourry. He didn't know why he felt so unreasonably angry at Gourry, he just did. Maybe it was because of Lina, but he wanted to kick him in the head for being as primitive as an ape.

Zel reached down to unbuckle the sword from Gourry's hip, when suddenly Gourry's hand reached out and grasped Zel's wrist. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Then suddenly, Zel was being thrown from the bed. He stopped himself on his heel before he hit the wall. "Give me the sword, Gourry," Zel said menacingly.

"Who are you?" Gourry asked, now on his feet with his sword drawn.

Zel quickly had his own sword out and was thankful that Gourry had not called the higher power of the sword, and he was still matching steel with steel. However, before too many blows had been struck, Zel remembered his own inadequacy as a swordsman when compared with Gourry and decided to take a less than honourable road.

Zel stepped away from the battle and said calmly, "Sleep."

The keyword for the spell knocked Gourry on his back. As he landed softly on the bed he happened to look directly at Zel and say, "How come Zelgadis?"

Zel opened his mouth to answer him, but quickly shut it again. He didn't feel shame as he thought he ought to have. Instead he felt an odd exhilaration at knowing what he wanted and getting it, regardless of personal attachment. It didn't matter to him at all that Gourry was not much of a man without his sword. Zel didn't think he was much of anything without Lina.

He took the sword from Gourry's limp body and left the room.

_Now I'm standing here alone_

_I'm waiting on my own_

_For something that will fill the emptiness inside_

_The moment that you're mine_

Xellos didn't tell Zelgadis exactly how it went with Gourry's woman, and Zel didn't ask. He didn't want to know.

Xellos was taking him to the Desert of Destruction – apparently where Hellmaster Phibrizzo lived – on the edge of their world. Zelgadis didn't know what he was expecting; perhaps a castle like Dynast's, but Hellmaster's home was nothing like Dynast's. It stood, a great white pillar, not unlike a tombstone on the white dunes. Xellos stood with him for a moment outside the only door to the tower.

"Would you rather walk before me or after me?" he asked Zel.

"Does it matter?"

"I think it does. Do you want to show Philbrizzo-sama that I brought you or that you came here forcefully under your own will?" Xellos asked as the wind blew his hair into his eyes.

"I'll walk first," Zel said, moving towards the door.

"As you say," Zel heard the Priest say, but as he turned around to see him, he saw that he was gone and he was left to walk alone to meet Phibrizzo – with the Sword of Light in his hands.

_But this is loneliness I know_

_I lay my hand onto my soul_

_Is this what life has got to give?_

_Is this the dream I had of you . . ._

_The dream I had of you?_

The room looked empty as Zelgadis entered. It was white as the tower looked on the outside – white like the inside of a sepulcher. Here, it was very easy to tell what was white and what was black.

Suddenly, Zelgadis heard the doors behind him shut – quite forcefully. He turned around to see who had shut them, and saw a young boy. He looked not quite fourteen. He stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly holding onto the door knob behind him.

"Zelgadis-san, at last," he said, raising his dark head to show Zel his eyes. "I am Hellmaster Phibrizzo, and I'm very glad you were persuaded to accept my offer. I knew Xellos would be able to put it to you properly though. He's much better at that sort of thing than me. He always knows exactly what to say," the boy said wistfully and slowly. "And you've brought the Sword of Light with you! That's very clever as we'll need it right away."

"Don't you want to talk to me? You know, to find out if I really am what you want?" Zelgadis asked.

"Oh, I _know_ you're exactly what I want. You needn't worry that I haven't done my homework on you. I know _all_ about you," Phibrizzo said mildly.

"Then you just want to get on with it?" Zelgadis said with a hard lump in his throat.

"I think you'll like what I'm going to do for you," Phibrizzo said steadily pacing towards Zelgadis. "You've always wanted to be powerful, and the strength Rezo gave you will seem like nothing compared to the rush you'll get from mazoku power, and I'm willing to give you everything you want. I'll give you power. I'll give you the little sorceress Lina if you want her, and anything else you could possibly desire. And in return, you'll go to battle for me – that's the 'rush' I was mentioning earlier. Doesn't that sound like everything you want?"

_But this is loneliness I know_

_I lay my hand onto my soul_

_Is this what life has got to give?_

_Is this the dream?_

Zel's eyes opened wide as he took the shining blade, execution style, in through the back of his neck. He spread his arms wide as a man who accepts his fate until his strength was spent and the last streams of his blood flowed.

_The dream I had of you?_

_

* * *

_

Author's Notes: Just in case anyone is wondering, in the manga - right before Lina fights Shabranigdo - Zel asks Shabranigdo if he can transform him back into a human and he says no. So, that's where that comes from. Anyway, love is all around the world. I hope you enjoy the chapter. 


	15. Chapter Fifteen To Wish Impossible Thin...

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

**To Wish Impossible thing - by The Cure**

Lyrics – Italics and Centre

Any Narrative – Black

* * *

_Remember how it used to be  
When the sun would fill the sky  
Remember how we used to feel  
Those days would never end  
Those days would never end_

Maybe it was the steel hilts in her hands, or maybe it was his voice in her head, but for some unknown reason – Lina couldn't get Zelgadis off her mind. He seemed have taken permanent residence in her thoughts. It was strange – at least to her. She kept telling herself that all those thoughts belonged to a person that she had been forced to leave behind. She hadn't been able to take anything of her old self with her. Yet, it had always been her philosophy to slash and burn memories and mistakes that happened in the past. Maybe she wasn't so different after all.

Still, she believed that Zelgadis was someone she was going to have to leave in her old life. There was only Dynast left for her.

_Remember how it used to be  
When the stars would fill the sky  
Remember how we used to dream  
Those nights would never end  
Those nights would never end_

Now that she was a mazoku, Dynast made no secret of his ambitions – and he was ambitious. He wanted her to be strong; strong enough to cast the Giga Slave repeatedly. Lina remembered Sylphiel's warning about the spell having the capability to destroy everything in their world, but somehow she found that she didn't really care if the whole world went down in flames. It didn't matter if she couldn't have what she wanted, and Zelgadis was lost to her.

_It was the sweetness of your skin  
It was the hope of all we might have been  
That filled me with the hope to wish  
Impossible things  
To wish impossible things_

She stood in the great hall with twin katanas in her hands. She wanted to work through her feelings until she could live with herself – the movement and methodology would help her. As things were, she felt incapable of existing as a mazoku. She, who had thrived on passion, was now exempt from all rational feeling and existed only to drive someone else's desires. It seemed too cruel. She had always been the leader and now was forced down the lane of fate – led by a master she had not chosen. Dynast had been so clever in deceiving her and trapping her.

She just kept on thinking that if she saw Zelgadis one more time, she could explain to him what happened to her and why their relationship was now impossible. She didn't like the idea of leaving him without a word. She thought hundreds of times that she should have gone to the inn to see him, but Dynast would not let her out of his sight until he had confirmed that Zelgadis had left the inn.

Lina shook her head. She was very muddled. She seemed to sit on the cusp of being a human or being a mazoku, but she could never seem to land on one side or the other. She couldn't be a human, but there were parts of her humanity that wouldn't leave her to be a mazoku. It was torture.

_But now the sun shines cold  
And all the sky is grey  
The stars are dimmed by clouds and tears  
And all I wish  
Is gone away_

She tried to keep herself concentrating on what lay ahead for her as a mazoku. She couldn't think. Obviously Dynast wanted her to cast the Giga slave repeatedly, but it seemed to Lina that his intention had nothing to do with preserving her, but instead of furthering his own will. Maybe she wouldn't live long enough to carve a life out for herself.

_All I wish  
Is gone away_

She often wondered what Dynast planned to do with himself once everything he dreamed of came true and the answer she always came to seemed to numb her senses. The truth was; Dynast didn't care if he lived through it. He would be willing to go down in a burst of flame as long as that burst was big enough.

Then she thought about Zelgadis again.

She was going round in circles.

_All I wish  
Is gone away_

_

* * *

_

Author's Notes: Jak convinced me to do a bridge chapter. Those of you who are up to speed with the story may not appreciate this, but the next planned chapter slingshots us into the final conflict, so he thought I should do a reflection chapter. So, those of you who just read from the beginning may enjoy this - it would probably be too much of a jolt to your systems to launch right into the finale. Anyway, thank you to all my reviewers! I love reviews!


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Zelgadis sat in an arm chair with his legs stretched out. It had taken him a long time to decide on the form he would traditionally take as a mazoku. He decided to let most of his stone golem appearance go, except for the two bulges that traveled from his ears across his cheeks. As for the rest of his skin, he was satisfied that it could go rock hard if he only willed it. He wanted to leave his flesh soft the rest of the time. It had been years since he had felt anything tender with _his _skin.

He had also decided that his hair would remain the same colour as blue silver, as he wanted Lina to be able to recognize him when she saw him, but had extended its length and now wore it in a long ponytail down his back. Other than those things, he basically remained the same – which suited him fine.

Zelgadis turned his head so he could look out the window at the desert ahead of him. It was interesting, looking out now, that the mass of space didn't matter to him at all. He could cover it in a moment to be beside Lina – and he would be able to do it soon.

Hellmaster had not wanted him going to Dynast's castle until he was prepared. Phibrizzo insisted on taking the time to train Zelgadis as Dynast had taken the time to train Lina. To Hellmaster, a great deal was invested in Zelgadis and he didn't want it coming to nothing by Zel going off half-cocked. Zel found that he agreed with Phibrizzo and allowed him to take whatever time he needed. Besides, for some reason Zelgadis found that he couldn't disobey Phibrizzo. He simply didn't want to.

Zelgadis let his head fall back on the stone headrest of the chair he was sitting in. Yet, even though he found he did not despise Phibrizzo, he found that he did despise Xellos. And he was _always_ around. When Zel asked Phibrizzo why Xellos was still there, he told him it was because Xellos was going to go with him to Dynast's castle when he went to go get Lina. Zel asked very pointedly why that was, and the answer he got actually made his mouth water.

"Don't forget Zelgadis, Dynast has two priests, a general, and Lina. Not to mention his own considerable abilities. If a battle should break out, and one most likely will, you will want to have Xellos by your side. He is the strongest of the lesser mazoku, and clever enough to take on someone far superior to him in strength without getting himself killed," Phibrizzo said simply.

Zel closed his eyes and tried not to think about going into battle. The excitement that reverberated through him was enough to send him reeling, so he fought hard for self control.

Now he was waiting for Xellos to arrive with the word that they could depart. It felt like Zel had been waiting a very long time - like he had been waiting forever for Lina. Waiting for Xellos was considerably less pleasurable. Zelgadis longed for the day that he was stronger than Xellos.

"Zelgadis-san," Xellos said, coming up behind him from nowhere. "It's time . . . if you're ready." The last words were said as if they were a challenge, and Zelgadis could never let Xellos taunt him.

Zel didn't say a word at first, but raised himself to his feet and equipped both his own sword and the Sword of Light to his hip. "Don't be an ass, Xellos," was what he said at last.

"As you say," Xellos said with a smirk as he teleported out of Zelgadis' view.

Zel shook his head and followed.

They were to meet at first at the back garden entrance to Dynast's castle. It was a place Zelgadis had not seen on his first visits to the castle, but it was a place of reputation among mazoku. Zelgadis had wondered how there could be a garden so far north, but as he appeared beside Xellos he saw that there could be. The sun had set forever in the north now and the northern lights blazed emerald and soft garnet shades. The lights radiated iron fences and dark statues of women and beasts. Icicles froze in the shapes of trees and thistles were the main attraction though. They provided a background for the perfect battle – if indeed they were to fight here.

"Something is strange," Xellos said, standing slightly in front of Zelgadis. Zel had not even seen him approach.

"What is it?" Zel asked.

Xellos shrugged. "I sort of half expected Sherra, Dynast's General, to meet us here. I wonder why she hasn't appeared."

Zelgadis didn't say anything, but scanned the area carefully. No, he didn't think Sherra was hiding anywhere among the icicles either. He could sense no aura – nothing. All the power Zel was aware of was pulsing from the castle itself.

"Do you want to go inside then?" Zel asked cautiously.

"I'm not convinced that's the best course. Waiting here wouldn't be wise either. Do you know what the problem is Zelgadis-san?" Xellos asked.

Zel thought hard, but the answer wasn't evident to him, so he kept silent. He wasn't satisfied. He didn't like for Xellos to beat him at anything, so it was unnerving not to be able to sense the danger that Xellos recognized.

Evidently, Xellos realized that Zelgadis didn't know to what he was referring, and said smugly, "Neither Dynast or Lina are in the castle right now. It's too bad you aren't quite able to distinguish between different astral characters to realize that Sherra and the priests are waiting in the castle for us – probably prepared for combat – but Dynast has politely removed Lina. If we retreat now, without knowing the whereabouts of Lina, Dynast will have the chance to change their position and make Lina even more inaccessible."

"Then we'll have to go in now, and find out from Sherra where Dynast has taken Lina," Zel said.

"Very well," Xellos said taking his staff in two hands, "whenever you're ready. It's probably just as well. If you think you'll be able to get the information out of Sherra . . ."

"You think I can't?" Zelgadis snapped.

Xellos winked at him, and Zelgadis wanted to kill him.

* * *

"Are you ready Lina?" Dynast asked her. His lips were close to her ear and his arms were wrapped around her waist. 

Lina wanted to move away – force his hands away from her. Somehow he hadn't given up the habit of touching her like she was his lover. Lina knew it meant nothing, she was just a tool to him, but she couldn't summon her voice to tell him not to touch her. There was just something inside her that forbade her.

"Remember all the times we practiced?" Dynast said, grasping her hand and forcing her to entangle her fingers in his hair.

"I can't think," she whispered, afraid of what he would say or do if she denied him even the slightest thing.

"Still a little human, aren't you Lina-chan? I'm sorry that you haven't been able to shake it, but I know you can do this. All you have to do is forget . . ." he paused.

"You mean you want me to forget my life before, and forget Zelgadis-san?" she asked.

"It wouldn't do you any good to remember him. Come on Lina – just do what I ask you to do. The Giga Slave is a spell that would certainly cut your ties to your past life. I promise. After you view the destruction it causes and feel the power of the Lord of Nightmares, you won't care at all about anything else, except the power. I promise. And wouldn't that be better than constantly brooding over what you gave up to be with me?" Dynast asked, and all of it seemed like perfect logic to her.

It seemed perfectly logical that destroying the world would make her feel better – that doing so would cure her sorrowing soul. She had not the soul of a mazoku if she didn't feel a certain amount of blood-lust.

She licked her lips and thought about what he had said, but then suddenly had cause to look around at her surroundings. Where were they?

* * *

One of the first things Hellmaster had taught Zelgadis was that to fight a mazoku, one must not try to pin the mazoku. Because mazoku could teleport, it was utterly useless to try to back them into a corner, unlike in human swordplay. He said that the best tactic was to do surprise attacks. That was the only way. He also said that the more psychological the better. It was best to try to trick your opponent so that the attack could be more than a pin-prick before they teleported. He said that Xellos was the master of this, which was why he was called the 'Trickster Priest', and why Hellmaster tried to get Zelgadis to learn as much as he could from Xellos. It might have been very beneficial for him, Zelgadis reflected, except that he couldn't stand to be taught anything by Xellos. 

Even now, when Zel realized that Sherra had several advantages over him, he would still not acknowledge that he ought to have taken some pointers from Xellos. He couldn't help it. He believed firmly that everything Xellos said was a damn lie, and couldn't be persuaded that the priest meant anything he said. Zel thought it was a miracle that Xellos had been able to convince him of the truthfulness of Hellmaster's offer.

"Why do you want to find her so badly?" Sherra called to him from a vantage point by a pillar on a second floor balcony. Her dark indigo braid fell over one shoulder, and she kept her eyes firmly on Zelgadis.

Who knew what exactly happened to Xellos now, but Zelgadis was left to face Sherra alone. He didn't care that Xellos deserted him – he expected him to.

"I won't explain myself to you!" he hollered. Suddenly, he got an idea, and wondered if it would work. He drew the sword of light and said the words to call the white blade from the enchanted hilt.

"Oh, come on! You can't expect me to tell you something for nothing you know. So, you might as well try me. Come on – tell me," she said.

"Well," Zelgadis said, measuring the distance behind her with his eyes. "I'm in love with her."

Sherra's eyes went wide.

NOW!

Zelgadis teleported behind her and slammed the Sword of Light into her back. He hoped that those words would surprise her enough for him to get that moment in which to attack.

She screamed.

"Where is she?" Zelgadis demanded, using his strength to move the blade in heavy circles, causing more damage throughout her entire body.

"Oh my!" Xellos exclaimed, suddenly appearing beside Zelgadis. "So, you were able to pin her – imagine that!"

"Shut up Xellos!" Zelgadis yelled, and then focused his attention on Sherra. "Tell me where your master has taken her!"

"I don't know," she spat out in her pain. "I don't know where."

"Where?" he persisted, becoming more blood-thirsty by the second.

"The top of the world!" she shrieked.

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay - there's more to come. Please review ! 


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

At first Zelgadis didn't believe Sherra. "On top of the world," she said, but he didn't believe her, and he turned the Sword of Light violently in his hands, causing a great gash to form between her two shoulder blades.

"Tell me the truth!" he pushed, preparing to drive the sword down through her the long way to her tail bone.

"Quiet Zelgadis," Xellos said calmly, pointing even to a place even further north. "Look at that."

Zelgadis moved his attention from Sherra for a moment and glanced at the place Xellos had indicated. It seemed the earth was heaving, like there were heavy earthquakes taking place in the north. "What's that?" Zelgadis asked. Then he noticed that Sherra had used that moment to escape. "Damn it! Where did she . . ."

"Don't worry about her," Xellos commanded slowly. "She wasn't lying. We've got to go interfere with Dynast this moment. He's got to be there with Lina now."

"What is he doing to make the earth move like that?" Zelgadis asked.

"Probably what he planned to do with Lina since the moment he first saw her – have her cast a Giga Slave."

"A Giga Slave?" Zelgadis instantly remembered Lina's display of power when she used the Lord of Nightmares to slay the Dark Lord Shabranigdo. So, that was what Dynast wanted her for. It made perfect sense. "You knew all along?" Zelgadis roared and took hold of Xellos' tunic, forgetting for a moment that such an action against Xellos would not pose any sort of threat to the mazoku. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Xellos didn't bother to remove Zelgadis' hand, but instead said with his wide-open slitted eyes, "We'll have to move quickly if we're to stop them. You want to stop them, don't you Zelgadis? That infinitesimal bit of human left in you doesn't want to see the havoc that an out of control Giga Slave can summon, does it?"

Zel thought about what Xellos was suggesting. Was there really enough human left in him that he wanted to save the world? Not really. Zel wanted to save Lina, everything else could be sacrificed. That's what he decided when he became a mazoku.

Zelgadis let go of Xellos' shirt. "Let's go," he said darkly.

"As you say," Xellos said teleporting to lead the way into the chaos that was consuming the north.

* * *

Zelgadis and Xellos approached the place where Lina and Dynast were. It was on a jutting ledge near the top of a very tall mountain. There was sparkling snow thrashing and the chaos energy was spinning around Lina violently, but Zelgadis soon realized that she had not yet said she key words to the spell "Giga Slave". If she had not done that yet then there might be time to stop her and to save her. 

Dynast was standing fairly far away from her, watching her with a vicious light gleaming from his mazoku eyes. It looked to Zel as though he were very well pleased with his arrangement. He obviously thought that Lina was quite the prize. Then his eyes came up, or his senses alerted him to Zelgadis and Xellos' presence.

Xellos had informed him earlier that _he_ would be the one to handle Dynast and that the only part of this operation that Zel needed to worry about was Lina. After all, that was Zelgadis' objective – to get Lina.

Zelgadis didn't waste one backward glance to see what Xellos was doing, but instead instantly threw himself into the chaos energy – attempting to get close to Lina.

"Lina!" he hollered.

She didn't seem to hear him.

"Lina!" he shouted again.

Her eyes seemed hollow as she stared in front of her. She didn't seem to notice Zelgadis' approach at all.

Zelgadis came up in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders, "LINA!"

Not his touch or his voice seemed to be reaching her. What was the Giga slave doing to her? How was he going to save her?

Damn it! He drew the Sword of Light and was deeply angered that it had come to this. For some reason he always believed in the back of his mind that he would have to participate in combat with Lina, but to have her simply stand there while he cut her seemed like the most unbearable part of all of this, and he had to do it in order to bring her to her senses. He might rip out the remainder of his humanity to be with her, he might wage war with Dark Lords, but having to cut her when she wouldn't fight back seemed . . . like too much.

When he seemed able to face what he would do, he calculated how much damage he would have to do in order to wake her up. The wound would have to be fairly deep. Zelgadis guessed that even though Hellmaster promised that she would not be _his_ equal, she would still be quite strong. Suddenly, he remembered the white mark on her chest. Her dress didn't cover it and it shown very white, even though the whitest, freshest snow was blowing around them in great gusts. He backed up and placing both hands on the hilt, slammed himself, blade first, into her. Zelgadis knocked Lina against the side of the mountain with his strength. He cradled her head in his hands, hoping what he had done was enough to wake her.

"Get away from her, boy!" Zelgadis heard Dynast yell. His voice was very loud as the chaos energy had subsided.

"Take Lina and go RIGHT NOW!" Xellos screamed - right before Zelgadis saw him teleport out. Zel had only seen a glimpse of the Priest, but he saw that Xellos' injuries were much worse than what he had done to Sherra when he had nearly cut her in half.

Dynast was approaching quickly, and Zelgadis teleported out without even thinking.

The only place Zelgadis could think of to flee to was the tower in the Desert of Destruction. Besides, Zelgadis knew that he could not take on Dynast by himself.

When he appeared in the tower, he saw Xellos sitting by Hellmaster's empty throne, nursing his wounds. Zelgadis saw that he had underestimated how hurt Xellos really was. One of his arms looked like it had been ripped off, and there were great gashes in his chest and thighs. Xellos was breathing hard, which caused dark energy to leak from his mouth, but that dark dangerous light that Xellos could shine forth from his eyes was not gone. In fact, the pure mazoku elements appeared to be heightened by his pain.

Zelgadis didn't know what to say to him. Instead, he didn't say anything, but sat Lina down and carefully removed the Sword of Light from her chest.

"You went _that_ far Zelgadis-san? I never would have thought you had it in you," Xellos said, choking on something in his throat.

Zelgadis clumsily laid Lina down flat on the stone, and tried to chant a healing spell.

"Don't bother with that nonsense," Xellos said, and for the first time didn't sound patronizing. "It won't do her any good now. Not only can you not call on healing powers as a mazoku, but a healing spell will do nothing to cure her now. Just let her lie still. She's too inexperienced to know how to heal herself, and only she knows the secret to her regeneration."

Zelgadis sat back and felt very helpless. He wanted to help Lina, but most of all he wanted to talk to her. That was what was making him feel most deprived during all of this – that he had not been able to speak to her. In his mind, this whole scenario had played out very differently. He felt like he had been robbed of every chance to show her that he cared for her. What was left to him now except to sit by her and make sure she didn't teleport back to Dynast's side? It was not unlikely that she might have to do so. Perhaps he would end up fighting her as he thought – here.

* * *

Hellmaster Phibrizzo stood in front of Dynast with the snow shards of the north lightly dusting his childish appearance. Dynast didn't look in the least surprised to see him. 

"What do you want?" Dynast asked coldly.

"Don't be stupid. You know exactly what I want. If you remember, quite some time ago I told you that I was interested in that little sorceress Lina, and even though you knew some of my plans for her, you went and snatched her before I got the chance," Phibrizzo said very slowly.

"Ah, but you have the chimera, who is very valuable indeed, so why should you care what I do with my servants now?"

"Don't act so smug or stupid. Zelgadis has not near the value of Lina, even when given enhanced power by the Red Priest and myself. Lina is the one with the power to call on the highest of all Lords, not Zelgadis. Admit that she's more powerful than your Priests and General, even though you did not bestow nearly the same power on them, because she was already almost their equal before you got your hands on her." The look of satisfaction on Dynast's face irritated Phibrizzo, so he continued. "I sealed you in your castle before. I didn't realize that the underground passages allowed you much more roaming space than I previously believed. This time, it will be far more restrictive."

"What about Lina?" Dynast asked.

"She's going to become _my_ Priest."

"Don't . . ." Dynast suddenly said with urgency.

"Don't what? She was mine to begin with – you took her from me. Well, that's all over now. Because of your meddling, your sentence will now be twice as long," Phibrizzo said, before waving his arm and walking away from the failed Dark Lord.

* * *

Author's Notes: How was that? Anyway, if you're reading this, please review. Comments would really be appreciated at this point as I don't have a whole lot of experience wrapping up stories, and there isn't much left to this one. So, if you had any thoughts at all while reading this, please review! Thanks! 


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

Lina didn't want to open her eyes. She didn't know what happened. She knew she had begun to chant the spell to call on the Giga Slave, but she didn't know if she'd completed the spell or not. She didn't want to know. It didn't really matter anyway.

She had been in the mountains, and the snow had blown in white crystals against the black sky. Now she could feel heat in a wound on her chest and bright light breaking across her eyes. Perhaps Dynast had gotten what he wanted and the world was now gone. Maybe the power of the Dark Lord had cracked her to crumbs. From the heat she hoped she was in mazoku hell and would be able to rest now, but that couldn't be what happened. However, she couldn't have died if she could still feel her wounds.

"Open your eyes Lina," she heard a familiar voice say to her in the most commanding tone.

She obeyed.

At first the light was too much for her dilated irises and she couldn't focus on the person who had spoken to her. She knew one thing – it was not Dynast. It took a moment more, but at last she could see who it was. It almost looked like Zelgadis, but it could not be him. She knew the man was a mazoku and not a chimera. There was too much power bursting from his aura to be a mere chimera – not to mention his smooth skin and long hair. She closed her eyes. It had been too much to hope for.

"Have we met before?" she asked wearily, thinking he at least looked familiar to her.

"You don't know me?" he asked callously.

"Perhaps not," she answered, jolting herself up into a sitting position. "Where are we?" She was having a difficult time thinking straight.

"The Desert of Destruction," the man answered, before he got up and strode towards the window. "Do you really not know who I am?"

"When I first opened my eyes, I thought you looked like a friend of mine. That's all. You obviously know me if you're able to address me by my first name. How do you know me?"

At first he didn't answer, and when he finally did speak he didn't answer her question. "I am the General of Hellmaster Phibrizzo."

She whistled as if impressed. "That's got to be a good job. I assume this is Hellmaster's castle then? No wonder the place looks like a tomb," she said examining the room. "There's just one thing . . . I didn't think that Hellmaster had a priest or a general. I thought they were both killed during the War of the Monster's Fall. So, tell me – who are you really?"

"I didn't realize you knew so much about Hellmaster," he drawled. "I had no idea you were so intimate with mazoku, Lina. I should have known you did, since you dealt mostly in black magic." As he continued his voice became bitter, but Lina could not see his face now. He kept his back to her. "To think I kept so much of my appearance so that you would know me when you saw me. Tell me Lina, who do I remind you of?"

Lina's mouth suddenly felt very dry as she considered the possibility that . . .

"Zel?" she blurted.

Now he turned his face toward her. She recognized him immediately. He looked almost human, but not really like himself at all. Then all of a sudden she wanted to scream – the irony of it was too much for her to bear.

She had been foolish enough to follow Dynast into the deepest, darkest, coldest part of the world because she had found herself in love with Zelgadis. She would have loved Dynast forever, if he had stayed Zelgadis - for it was Zelgadis that she fell in love with. It was his face, his voice, his intellect, his magic – him! Even the chimera aspect of him she had loved, and when Dynast had shed the façade she lost her only chance to be with the real Zelgadis. Mazoku could not love and she could not disobey her master. Now, she was with the real man – the real Zel – and he had changed himself, so that he was no longer the person she loved.

She shook her head. It didn't really matter. She was a mazoku now and couldn't love him anyway. That's what she kept telling herself.

"Why did you do it?" she asked at last. "What did he offer you so that you became his general Zel?"

"You," Zel said without emotion.

"And what made you think that I was Hellmaster's for the giving?" Lina asked hotly.

"Don't act like you were in a state to make that kind of choice on your own. If I hear one more word like that – I'll rip your throat out," he said very seriously. "You know perfectly well that you were completely out of control. You'd be running back to Dynast this very minute if I had not . . ." Here Zelgadis stopped as if he was too uncomfortable to continue. But his eyes betrayed him as they strayed to the wound on her chest.

Now Lina looked down to examine it. It was where Dynast had thrust his dagger into her back, but now the stain was different. It was larger, deeper, and needed to heal all over again. "You did this?" she asked angrily.

He just looked back at her, and didn't even have to say, "What was I supposed to do?".

"What the hell?" she yelled at him. "Let me ask you one question. How are we ever going to be together like we dreamt about being together that one night in the inn? It's impossible. You're not human. I'm not human. The only way we seem to be able to get together is by drawing blood. That's not what _I_ dreamt about!"

"There has to be a way," Zel said and he cleared his throat, not that his throat needed to be cleared. "Hellmaster has asked me to make you an offer. It seems that he would like you to join us and become . . . his priestess."

Lina stared.

"I didn't realize that was his intent when he made me his general, but it seems to me that he had his eyes on you all along," Zel said bitterly.

"So, he wants both of us?"

Zel nodded gravely.

"And that's your idea of us 'being together'?"

"Do you have a better idea?" he barked.

"How about if you calm down?"

"I'm calm!" he exclaimed.

"Right," Lina said rolling her eyes.

"Lina, I did all of this for you. I became a mazoku for you! I knelt down and allowed Phibrizzo to drive the Sword of Light through my spine. I was thinking about you and how it was the only way for us to be together. It would be a hard thing, but if you asked me to run away with you – I would do it. If you wanted me to go serve Dynast and betray Hellmaster – I would do it – whatever you wanted!" He said in his own deep voice; his aqua eyes seemed to burn with impossible feeling.

"Isn't your loyalty to Hellmaster strong enough to stop you from doing all of those things?"

"My memory of my feelings for you is strong enough," he said passionately.

"You're going to get killed if you keep talking like that about your master," Lina said.

Zel ignored her comment and asked, "Do you not love me anymore?" his hand over his heart.

Lina didn't think he made the gesture on purpose. "Do you really want me _that _much?"

"I do."

* * *

Author's Notes: Thanks everyone who's still following this. I know - it's been an awfully long road. Please review!  



	19. Chapter Nineteen Freestate

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen - Freestate**

**A Song by Depeche Mode**

**

* * *

**

Lyrics – Centered Italics

Narrative – Black

* * *

"Why?" Lina asked, and Zelgadis noticed again how different her eyes looked. The long slits for pupils had surprised him immediately when she woke up and began talking to him. He hadn't noticed on the mountain. "Why do you want me so much? Mazoku aren't supposed to have those feelings! At all!" 

_I can hear your soul crying  
Listen to your spirit sighing  
I can feel your desperation  
Emotional deprivation_

"Perhaps not," Zelgadis said, coming close to her and kneeling on one knee before her. He thought for a moment that he looked like a knight pledging devotion to a Lady. Huh . . . Zelgadis had never been a knight – until he was made a general. "That night we spent together at the inn . . . I kissed you. You weren't able to bear it and you lost consciousness. Do you remember?"

"It's been hurting me since I woke up back at Dynast's castle," Lina said.

"Then you haven't forgotten about me?"

"How could I forget about you?"

Zel expected to feel a flush of pleasure at her admission of her feelings, but instead he didn't feel anything at all. He wished he did, but maybe if he was his old self, he wouldn't have been able to find the voice for the things he was saying. "I thought that the only way for me to approach you was to approach you as a mazoku. I didn't think I had a chance of winning you unless I was your equal. There has to be some way for us to be together, just so long as we _both _want that, so that we'll _both_ sacrifice for that. Is that what you want?"

She hesitated, and with every moment that passed, Zel's heartbeat began to come faster. He thought this was a good sign. Any show of emotion was better than none – especially now.

"One of the options you suggested as a vehicle for us to be together was for me to become Hellmaster's priestess. I never wanted to serve Dynast, but serving Hellmaster seems like a far worse option. I have to tell you Zel that I will never choose him as my master. I'd sooner choose you. It's too bad you're working for him."

Zelgadis was aware that their conversation was probably being listened to by Hellmaster and Xellos too. The idea hadn't bothered him thus far. He knew he could say whatever he wanted to in order to convince Lina to join them and there would be no consequences, but for her to declare outright that it was impossible for her to join them – that would have repercussions.

In a moment, Hellmaster was in the room, standing over them with his reptile eyes.

_Bloody hell_, Zelgadis thought. Now nothing could go right. He understood Lina's reluctance to join them and betray her master – he was going to have the same problem right now. Xellos was right; the only characteristic of a fledgling mazoku was their unfailing loyalty to their creator.

"Welcome to the Desert of Destruction, Lina Inverse," Hellmaster was saying. "I couldn't help but overhear that you would rather not be my priestess. It is a rather flattering offer. One would think it would be difficult to turn down. I also noticed that Zelgadis did not mention a key piece of the bargaining. You might find the position more appealing if you knew it."

"I doubt it," Lina said courageously.

"Well, Zelgadis retrieved the Sword of Light as a gift for you if you would be honour us with your service," Hellmaster said, suddenly producing the weapon between his hands.

She hesitated.

Zelgadis wildly hoped that she would take the sword and be done with it. He had believed from the beginning that her greed would work against her at this moment, and he still believed it.

"Actually, I'm not that interested in that relic anymore," she said with a toss of her hair.

Zelgadis stared.

"After all, it's really nothing to my true power now," she went on. "Mazoku are given power to hurt each other, so of what purpose is it to me now? Sure, it will accept dark energy, but would I even be able to control it? That's a lot of power to be wielding around."

"Well, you could ensure that it would never be used against you if it was one of your possessions," Hellmaster said, not at all shaken by her careless attitude.

"I don't really care about preserving myself these days, if you hadn't noticed," she said, crossing her legs as though they were sexy.

"If it was yours you could also ensure that it was never used against Zelgadis," the demon said.

Zel didn't have to look to know that the sword was now alight and was pointed squarely at the back of his neck. If Hellmaster swung, it would surely take his head off, but Zel didn't move. He had never suspected that he meant so little to his master. He hadn't expected to live through this endeavor anyway.

But Lina looked horrified.

_Let yourself go  
Let yourself go  
Let your feelings show_

"You'd kill him! How much of your power did you give up to create him? You'd throw him away just like that?" Lina asked.

"You're a mazoku now. You don't have feelings. His death should mean absolutely nothing to you. Or should I threaten your precious master instead? Wouldn't Zelgadis love to know how little you care for him compared to your master? To save your master's life, you'll agree won't you?"

"You'd kill Dynast too in order to get me?"

"Well, he hasn't been of much use lately - more of a liability than an asset. I'm sure you know what I mean. And Zelgadis, well, he knows that he was just a tool to get you. He told you that much, didn't he?"

Zel saw Lina's uncertainty.

_Picking up the conversation  
Deep in your imagination  
Tune into the lonely voices  
Talking of their only choices_

"So you used Zel and me as bargaining tools for each other? Use me to get him and use him to get me? I don't like the way you work at all. But you're dead wrong about Dynast. Go ahead – kill him. I don't really care, but I warn you. If you touch Zel – I'll kill you," she said violently.

Hellmaster smirked. "Very well. You'll join me then?"

"Are you going to kill Dynast?" she asked.

Zel thought this was a very strange question, but he had been surprised that she threatened to murder Phibrizzo for his sake. As she spoke it seemed like something clicked inside him – maybe a mazoku could feel something . . . he was certainly feeling _something_ now.

_Let yourself go  
Let yourself go  
Let your spirit grow_

"I don't think that's really necessary if you agree to serve me," Hellmaster said calmly.

"I do think it's necessary. It's the only way for me to ensure that I won't run back to him. It's a sick thing to admit, but I really want . . ." she paused here for emphasis, "to protect Zelgadis and I can't guarantee that I won't run back to him without my consent unless you kill him. As a matter of fact, I'm making that one of my conditions. I won't join you unless you kill him."

"I'm impressed," Phibrizzo said.

Zelgadis would have given anything to see the look on his master's face as he said that, but he couldn't turn his head. The Sword of Light was still pointed at him. He dared not move.

"It seems we've come to an accord. I'll leave you two alone – to be together the way you've always dreamed." Oddly enough his words were not condemning. With that said, he disengaged the sword so the light no longer shone and moved to leave.

"Wait," Lina said, rising. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"The Sword of Light; wasn't that part of our bargain?" she asked hotly.

"So it was," and he tossed her the hilt.

"Also, I have to know one more thing."

"What?" Hellmaster asked, seeming to get a little irritated with her now. Hopefully, he wouldn't regret sacrificing so much to have her.

"You have to tell me when you go to do it – I'll need to know when I can relax."

"Very well," he said. "I was planning to go this very minute. Zelgadis," he paused, and then turned his attention to Zel, "please keep her in check until I get back. It wouldn't be good for her to go berserk and join the battle. I wouldn't be able to be responsible for what might happen." With that, the mazoku lord teleported out of the room.

Zelgadis finally felt secure enough to stand and look Lina in the face. He hadn't thought that Lina would give in. He was very surprised – and for himself. It was incredible.

"Are you armed?" Lina asked Zel as soon as Hellmaster was gone.

"Of course," Zel said.

"We have to go," she said quickly. "Right now is the perfect time to give him the slip."

"Wait," Zel said, grabbing hold of her upper arm. "Where are we going to go? You don't think he'll be able to find us?"

"There's only one thing to do," she said. "You told me that the only way for us to be together was for us to each be equally committed. I have just sacrificed my master; you'll have to do the same thing. But first you and I must go take care of the remaining mazoku lords. No one will ever leave us alone until we are the most powerful. I'm sure together we can take Deep Sea Dolphin, Beastmaster, and Gaav. Hopefully, Dynast will work Hellmaster down so by the time we return he should be in a weaker state than the one we just witnessed. Are you with me or no?"

"What about Beast Master? Her priest is powerful," Zel said, thinking of Xellos.

"You'll have to break free from that way of thinking Zel. One of the main sources of power for mazoku is knowing that you are undefeatable. Are you with me?"

"Of course."

_Step out of your cage  
And onto the stage  
It's time to start  
Playing your part  
Freedom awaits  
Open the gates  
Open your mind  
Freedom's a state_

Zelgadis could not believe that this was Lina's idea to bring the two of them together and it excited him more than anything that had happened since his transformation. Her imagination was incredible. It was like that time they had met in the vault in the Kingdom of Xoanan, and pretended to fight to keep the guards from coming in. But still, he didn't like the idea of betraying his master, but Lina had been strong enough to arrange for her master's death, so he could be strong enough to do likewise.

They started with Deep Sea Dolphin. Zel knew that Hellmaster wasn't angered with her at that very moment, so they had no hope of him choosing to kill her on his own like they did with Gaav. Finding her fortress proved more difficult than Zel had imagined. It lay deep under fathoms of heavy black water. At first they tried to teleport, but found it impossible. In the end, Lina ignited the Sword of Light and plunged headfirst into the water with Zel right behind her.

When they finally entered Deep Sea's fortress, it didn't take long to find her. Zel was infinitely disappointed by what they did find. The mazoku was insane – a hunched over little creature with her aquamarine tresses flowing around her. It was obvious that Deep Sea was weakened – so weakened that she probably wouldn't fight back if attacked. Her mind seemed completely gone. She was very beautiful, but seemed insignificant when Lina stood beside her. He didn't really want to kill what looked like a little girl, but the heartless swordsman in him awakened, and he did it without Lina's help. Whatever part of him that had remained human through his mazoku transformation shouted out in anguish as he brought the killing stroke home. He felt like a murderer.

_I can taste the tears falling  
The bitterness inside you calling  
Yearning for a liberation  
Emotional emancipation_

Gaav was a different story. He was part human, like them, except the other way around. He was created as a mazoku lord and was later implanted with a human identity, which was much different than what happened to Zelgadis and Lina. Gaav was going to be much more difficult to beat than Deep Sea, which was to be expected, but even he wouldn't be as difficult as Beastmaster. Beastmaster was a full blown mazoku and she had her wits about her, or at least they thought she did.

Gaav managed to cut a very deep wound into Zelgadis' shoulder. When he was cut, it wasn't like anything he had ever experienced before. It wasn't as painful as when Phibrizzo drove the Sword of Light into him. It was like cracking a bottle – a giant bottle, filled to the brim with blood.

Their fight was long and hard, and carried on for hours. Gaav nearly got the better of them repeatedly, when the strangest thing happened.

Someone joined their fight – Xellos.

"Why Zelgadis, it looks like you know how to have a good time after all and you always act like such a stiff," Xellos said with a carefree smile.

"Shove it," Zelgadis said, moving to help Lina with her next attack.

"You might be interested in what I have to say," Xellos said, teleporting beside Zelgadis.

"Than drop the attitude and speak plainly," Zel shouted, dodging an attack and hating Xellos for distracting him so.

Xellos proposed an alliance between Beastmaster and Zelgadis and Lina. Apparently, she had no interest in interfering with the two of them, and in fact, had been plotting the demise of Hellmaster for some time. She would allow Xellos to fight with them to destroy the Demon Dragon King and then join them herself to fight Hellmaster – supposing he lived through his fight with Dynast. Zelgadis hadn't even suspected that Dynast would be strong enough to beat Phibrizzo. Indeed, he wasn't.

Zelgadis didn't want to agree to his proposal. No one ever knew when a mazoku might stab you in the back. It was part of what made mazoku politics so bloody – they were all so trigger happy that they couldn't keep their hands off their weapons (whether psychological or physical) for five minutes straight.

But what did he really have to lose? If anything, the human world would be a much better place with fewer dark lords. At least that way innocent people wouldn't get caught in the cross fire. But did he really care if they did? He and Lina hadn't even checked to make sure they wouldn't involve the local citizens before they began fighting Gaav. Zel didn't even care.

Zel got Lina's attention and relayed the plan to her. She agreed and immediately proposed a style of attack, with her coming at Gaav from the front and Zelgadis and Xellos attacking from the sides. She said it was the only thing that made sense, considering their numbers.

_Let yourself go  
Let yourself go  
Let your senses overflow_

They got into position, and Lina cast a spell on the sword. It wasn't a spell that Zel had ever heard before, but it was strong and powerful. It was probably something Dynast had taught her. Oddly enough, Gaav noticed Xellos and Zelgadis rushing him and moved to block both their attacks, but forgot entirely about Lina. Her stroke went home and the dark lord roared in pain. Then Zelgadis and Xellos finished him off.

Lina looked proud of herself as she span back on her heels. "Excellent!" she said. "Not much more to do now. When is your master coming to join us?" she asked Xellos.

"She's already here," he said bowing, and moving out of the way for a long lithe woman of light hair and animal eyes to step forward.

"I'm impressed you made it this far. It must have something to do with the kind of humans you were," she said in a rasping voice, almost like she smoked too much.

Zel looked across at Lina. The wind was ruffling her hair, and her white dress was torn in several different places, showing her thighs and part of her left shoulder blade. That was where he had cut her. As he examined her, he couldn't even feel the pain in his own shoulder. The pain seemed – well, worth it – for her.

"We haven't got much time," she said suddenly, breaking his reverie.

_Step out of your cage  
And onto the stage  
It's time to start  
Playing your part  
Freedom awaits  
Open the gates_

Beastmaster said that they had best wait for Hellmaster at his tower in the Desert of Destruction. He would come back there when his battle with Dynast was over.

Zelgadis moved away and stood by the open window, waiting for the return of his master. Slaying Phibrizzo was going to be very difficult for him. He remembered Xellos' words again; they seemed to ring in his head. "There is no creature on this earth more loyal than a fledgling mazoku – that is their only characteristic." Zelgadis felt the hot wind on his face. He felt the air with real flesh instead of his stone skin, and remembered the great gift his master had given him. But they had succeeded thus far. He only needed to understand that it was possible.

_Open your mind  
Freedom's a state_

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Author's Notes: I know this novella has been a little Depeche Mode happy, but what can I say? Depeche Mode just provides a great background to mazoku dealings. Anyway, this has been loads of fun. I think there will only be one more chapter after this one. Please review!

P.S. I'd also like to dedicate this chapter to Angie. She's always anon. so I can't write her back and tell her how much I appreciate her continued support for this fic. Thanks my girl! You make my day!

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	20. Chapter Twenty The Point of Know Return

Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers, or this song. But I really enjoyed writing this fic.

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**Chapter Twenty - The Point of Know Return**

**A Song by Alphaville**

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* * *

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Lyrics – Centered Italics

Narrative – Black

* * *

The wind still blew though the windows of Hellmaster's tower. Zelgadis, Lina, Xellos and Zelas all waited expectantly for the Lord to return. The dusty sun was setting outside and Zelgadis was starting to wonder if Phibrizzo had been killed in his battle with Dynast. Zelgadis hadn't thought that was possible, but they had been waiting for a very long time.

Zelas and Xellos didn't talk, not to him, Lina, or to each other. Zelas leaned her slim body against one of the smooth stone walls and Xellos sat in one of the windows looking out onto the spanning desert. He was also healing himself. Zelgadis wanted to ask them questions about their decision to turn against Hellmaster, but seeing their behaviour, decided it was enough that they had made the decision – to his and Lina's benefit. He still didn't trust them though. It was impossible to trust someone wholly mazoku.

Zelgadis looked at Lina. She was lying flat on her back with one of Phibrizzo's books in hand. Her legs were crossed, and she wore an easy expression on her face – like she hadn't ordered the demise of her master. It was that exact expression that made him trust her.

He was working on healing his shoulder still. Gaav had hit him hard. Zel didn't think he would be able to close the wound before Hellmaster made it back, but since he seemed to be taking his sweet time murdering his subordinate, Zel might at least bind it shut. The cut itself would not heal completely for many moons. That was what Xellos told him. Zelgadis didn't like to trust Xellos, but there were sometimes, some moments, where Xellos looked exactly as he had when he proposed Hellmaster's deal to him. It was that time in front of the fire. That face, those eyes, that made Zel believe what Xellos told him.

The sun finally descended below the skyline and the wind changed from very hot to chilly in a single second. The room became so dark that soon the only things Zelgadis could see were the four sets of shining mazoku eyes.

Wait! Four sets?

"Well, what a reception," Phibrizzo said coldly. Evidently, he had been waiting for nightfall to make his appearance. With that he simultaneously lit all the torches in the room and the enclosure lit up magnificently. "Did you all wait here? Just for me?"

"Did you do it?" Lina asked nonchalantly, moving from her place on the carpet into a standing position. "Did you kill Dynast for me?"

"Ah, but of course," then he turned his head as though he hadn't seen her, and addressed himself to Zelas. "And what are you doing here, my dear? Did Zelgadis need your help to stop Lina from running after me? That's awfully shameful, Zelgadis. You didn't hurt her too much I trust?"

_The gentle taste of orange  
A garden of fruit and flowers is what I embrace_

_Is what I embrace_

Zelgadis stared at his master, every moment becoming very slow until Zelgadis could think clearly. He had to be sure of his purpose before he slew his master. What did everything that happened really mean? Zel had been a Shaman. He used to be a person in tune with nature; a person in tune with the elements. Now, that meant nothing to him, because he had given it all away. None of the things that a human wanted were any of his business anymore. It was like he was dead, but walking free in the human world; a place he no longer belonged. He had lived a half-life as a chimera, not able to enjoy any of the obviousness about being a human. That had been his fault. He had believed for so long that no one would want to be near him because he was a monster. How could becoming more of a monster change his situation? He had wanted to be in love with Lina. He had wanted her love, and saw becoming a mazoku as the only way to achieve this goal. How could that reasoning have made sense? When did allowing yourself to be slain allow you to be with the one person you truly cared for?

He raised his eyes and stared at Lina. He had to answer Phibrizzo's question.

_In ocean blue eyes, in each one's an island  
I'm stranded within your love_

_I'm stranded within your love_

"She's my lady love," Zelgadis said slowly, realizing that it didn't matter what he said, as long as he started the battle to show Lina that he was serious. His eyes were on her. Her eyes were on him. He had to show her that he meant what he said about cutting their bonds so they could be together.

_And as I fall deeper than ever  
And as we kiss, we're each other's guide_

_We're each other's guide into the unknown_

He drew his sword and said, "You have my thanks for helping me become a mazoku. I wanted to be with Lina, but you're in our way. I'll have to kill you now." Zel's voice was steady as he spoke, but even with all his conviction, he still had a difficult time pointing the blade at his master. Zelgadis was the devil himself now, so why couldn't he do this?

He forced himself to move for the first strike.

_Where men do not return, where men do not forget  
The sweetest suicide, as if we don't exist,_

"Stop!" Phibrizzo commanded.

Zelgadis stared transfixed, and did as he was commanded.

His master was holding a golden ball in his hand. "Do you really think I would have created my first servant in a thousand years, and not create one of these to accompany him? Don't move Zelgadis, or I'll crush it. You'll die instantly if I do, but you knew that didn't you?"

"Of all the dirty . . ." Lina fumed.

"Don't think that I don't understand your plans Lina!" Hellmaster shouted. "Don't think for one second that I don't understand you perfectly. If you fight me on your own, you'll die."

"She won't die," Zelas said quietly. "These two did not come here on their own. My servant and I will help destroy you, and you'll really visit the underworld, Hellmaster-san." Her yellow eyes flashed dangerously, and she and Xellos went into action before Zel realized they planned to attack in that instance.

Even if his life was on the line, he joined in. He didn't care if Hellmaster could crush his existence with a snap of his fingers, if he showed himself to be a coward now, everything with Lina was over. He had to be the strongest. He _was_ the strongest.

_Where men do not return, where men do not forget_

_The sweetest suicide, as if we don't exist, but live_

The battle was one of speed and strength, but still in all the commotion, Zelgadis' golden sphere was not crushed. It seemed impossible, but it remained untouched, and a marvelous conflict ensued. A fight like this, drawing blood like this, were the things that really made a mazoku feel alive – Zel included. And for Lina, he would do anything.

_The presence of angels, the incense of Indochine  
The quietness of movements, the slowness of Africa  
A point of know return, no way out of here  
Nothing compares to you  
Anything goes_

The tower was breaking, as the rocks fell to ruin, but the battle continued in the skies.

At last, the scream Phibrizzo let out was the silencing one before mazoku death. It had been Zelas who drove the final blow home. Dark energy amassed and dispersed.

They had won.

_And as I breathe deeper than ever  
I'm coming home, I'm coming home to the unknown_

It had not been easy. Xellos had been badly injured in his fight with Dynast, and had still participated in their fight with Gaav. Now after fighting so many dark lords in such a short time period, it was obvious that he was near death. But Zelas cared deeply for her servant and imparted some of her energy to him in order to steady him. Zelgadis watched the two of them carefully. Their relationship seemed strange. _She_ had been the one to push him so far.

Lina was hurt as well, though not as badly. "I felt like I could do it," she said to Zel, teleporting next to him in a flash. "I felt like I could do it once he said that Dynast was dead. As long as I have no one who I have to obey, I can do anything. Are you hurt?"

"No," Zel said. "Just the cut from Gaav."

"And you weren't afraid to murder your master. I'll never forget this Zelgadis. Never." She paused and looked around the skyscape, as though the sight of the still desert scenery was anticlimactic for her. "Let's go," she said. "There's nothing for us here."

"Wait, Lina," Zelgadis said, touching her clothes. "Where will we go?"

"Back to Gourry for one thing," she said, looking unusually serious, and fingering the sword of light at her hip as though it was something poisonous.

Zelgadis was totally aghast by what she said. "What the hell? Why?" But he wouldn't let himself decide what she was thinking until she answered him. There were too many possibilities, but all of the ones Zelgadis thought of sounded wretched. What did she want with Gourry now? Now that everything was over, why would she want to see _him_ now? Bloody hell! Did nothing ever turn out right?

"I'll explain on the way," she said, putting her arm around Zel and helping him to his feet. He didn't really need her help, but since she wanted to give it, he didn't push her away.

Zelgadis watched, as Lina turned and gave Zelas and Xellos one final salute before evaporating into thin air, taking him with her.

* * *

"Was all that really necessary?" Zelas said aloud once Lina and Zel had departed.

Phibrizzo appeared behind her and whispered into her ear, "You know it was. They'll be useless servants until they discover how hopeless their love affair really is. Mazoku don't love, but they think that because a tiny portion of their humanity that still exists, they'll be able to act on that. It's really impossible, but we have to give them their chance to realize what their situation really is."

"I still think your grandiose scheme was too elaborate for what was necessary," Zelas said, smoothing her hair with one of her hands.

"Ah, but it wasn't all a waste. Gaav is gone now."

"Your mission in life," she said sarcastically. "Well, I hope you'll be happy now that you no longer have him to deal with, and his subordinates won't come after you because you weren't the one who 'officially' did it."

"Naturally."

"Was it difficult to convince Dynast of your plan? Is that why you were gone so long?" she asked, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth.

"No, it didn't take long to convince him. He's an idiot, but he knew I had him pinned."

Zelas sighed, "Then where were you all that time? I had to hang around with those two starry-eyed lovers for hours, and Zelgadis kept looking at Lina with the sickest expression." Zelas stuck out her tongue for emphasis. "What are you going to do to make it up to me?

"I went to go look in on Deep Sea. She was a mess, but played her part well, or so she claims. . ."

"And poor Xellos," Zelas interrupted him, looking down at her servant with ferocious eyes. "There was no need for that one hit you made on him. How are you going to explain that?"

"We had to make it look real," Phibrizzo explained, wagging his index finger.

"Don't bullshit me," Zelas said crushingly. "He was already injured, and he did his best to protect your assets during the fight with Gaav. Lina and that twit would never have defeated him without Xellos' help."

"What are you saying," Phibrizzo said silkily.

"Just don't count on my help next time you feel like executing a plan like this in the future."

Xellos lay hunched up in the corner of the room admiring Zelas. She was really a demon of the highest order. Lina and Zelgadis didn't know what they were missing when they deserted their mazoku masters. Sure human interests were very interesting, but there was nothing quite like the unmanageable passion of a dark lord on a rampage. Just to was watch his master's mind work was enough to sustain him forever.

Xellos prized watching her, even when he was near death.

* * *

Lina and Zelgadis appeared outside the inn Gourry was staying at. Apparently, he had taken up a job as a local mercenary with a less-spectacular weapon. Right now, he was sitting in the dinning room, unceremoniously chomping down on the roasted leg of an animal, minus the beautiful woman.

"What are we doing here Lina?" Zelgadis asked, while pushing his back against the outside wall of the inn.

"I have to give him his sword back," she said heatedly.

"Why?"

"You didn't have a hard time stealing it Zel, so don't act like that's why you don't want me to give it back. Listen up," she said looking deeply into Zelgadis' eyes. "I don't think we destroyed Phibrizzo, but he obviously wants us to think that we did. We have to find out what he's up to, and then we can really kill our masters."

"Our masters? You don't think he killed Dynast?"

"I know he didn't. I'd feel different. I'd feel vengeful, and instead I still feel the same pull to be near him."

"So, you want to play mazoku politics?" Zel said, thinking of how hard he had tried to get them alone and now they were jumping directly back into the fray. "How is giving Gourry back his sword going to aid you in that?"

"I want to see who comes after it, and tries to take it from him," she said, still hunching with Zel in the bushes like she was a human and afraid of being found out.

Zel sighed.

"Are you disappointed?" she asked in an urgent whisper.

"Not at all," he said, opening his blue slitted mazoku eyes. "On the contrary, I think this is going to be extremely entertaining . . . for the both of us."

_Where men do not return, where men do not forget  
The sweetest suicide, as if we don't exist,_

"Just kiss me . . . once."

_Where men do not return, where men do not forget_

_The sweetest suicide, as if we don't exist, but live_

**The End **

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Author's Notes: Hiya. Everyone reading my other fics is probably pissed that I took a timeout to finish this one, but it had to happen. I've had this fic on my plate for way too long as it is. I'm trying to learn how to finish things up and not to rush, but it's hard. And I suck at wrapping things up into a neat little package. I really tried my best with this and tried to make the last chapter like all the other chapters. Maybe I succeeded, maybe not. I love all you guys. Especially Kaeru, who I know has taken the time to read this. Thanks everyone who gave this a shot. And if you saw faults with it, don't be afraid to go hard and tell me what they were. I really want feedback, so that I can learn to execute these things better. 


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